Rick Ross and Freeway Rick Fight For Rights To Name In Court

Mayback Music’s Rick Ross and drug lord Freeway Rick appeared in court last week to dispute over the rights of the name “Rick Ross,” reports AllHipHop.com. Both men gave depositions in a Miami court to continue an ongoing battle for the trademark of the famous moniker.

In May of 2010, Freeway Rick Ross filed a $10 million lawsuit against Rick Ross accusing him of profiting off of his name illegally.  As a result, the judge ruled that he couldn’t sue because his criminal acts in the past had destroyed “any possibility that he has any valid trademark rights in his name, that have been violated by defendants.” The case was dismissed in Federal Court in November of 2010.

Freeway Rick appealed the decision in a state court and the case is now ongoing. In an interview with The Huffington Post last week, Freeway Rick says, “[He] treated me as if I had done something to him.” He claims that the rapper Rick Ross shot dirty looks his way when they saw each other in person. Freeway goes on to say, “When he first came to me, he didn’t know what position I was going to take, if I was going to send a word out to those young cats out in L.A. or not. That put a little fear in his heart.

“Now that he knows I’m not carrying it like that, he’s a little more courageous right now,” he added. "[He] has my name tattooed on his hand.” —Chanel Clark