Diddy May Face New Legal Challenge Over Name

Sean Combs may end up in court once again over the nickname “Diddy.” In 2006, the Bad Boy CEO settled a lawsuit filed by British musician Richard “Diddy” Dearlove, who claimed that he was the original Diddy and therefore entitled to the professional use of the name in the United Kingdom. Combs agreed to pay Dearlove's legal fees and an unspecifed amount in damages and promised to no longer conduct business under the name in the UK. Now, Reuters reports that Dearlove's attorney, Iain Purvis, recently made a complaint to the London High Court stating that Combs was still using the moniker on websites accessible to people within the UK. "We want him either to use a neutral name like P. Diddy or to shut them down," Purvis told the High Court. Although Combs has modified his own website to redirect British internet users to a site that does not use the moniker, he is unable to do so in the case of sites such as Myspace and Youtube. "It may be tough for him, but that is just unfortunate," said Purvis. "He has made his bed, he should lie in it." Should the court agree with Dearlove, his lawyer can seek an injunction against Puff and ask that he be awarded damages.