Pop sensation Ke$ha has filed a lawsuit against a company making a watch strap called “TikTok,” which she says is too similar to the title of her wildly popular 2009 single, “TiK ToK,” reports Reuters.
Last month, Ke$ha’s lawyers told Wimo Labs that the name of their watch strap was in “flagrant and conscious disregard” of the singer’s rights and demanded that Wimo turn over its entire stock. Wimo Labs has defended its product, asking a Chicago federal court to declare that the item does not infringe on the 24-year-old pop artist’s rights.
“TiK ToK,” which debuted in late summer 2009, was a No.1 hit in 11 nations and jump started Ke$ha’s music career. It was also reportedly the best selling digital song of 2010. The Californian appeared in numerous songs before the release of “TiK ToK,” including rapper Flo Rida’s chart topping tune, “Right Round,” but did not establish a name for herself in the entertainment business until “TiK ToK” hit the music scene. The singer has said she struggled financially until the release of her catchy hit, which details her hard partying experiences and promotes drinking.
David Leichtman, an intellectual property expert, told Reuters that Ke$ha is likely to win this case.
“She’ll have to show consumer studies to show people are making an association between her and the product,” Leichtman said.
Ke$ha has recently made news for collaborating with singers Britney Spears and Nicki Minaj for a remix of Spears’s “Till the World Ends.”
“I’m a massive fan of both the ladies I share the track with,” Ke$ha told MTV News last month. “I wrote ‘TTWE’ for Britney with [producers] Dr. Luke and Max [Martin] and she killed it and I loved it, but I just thought a supergroup of three hot, strong women could just take over the airwaves…I’m such a massive fan of Britney and I’m such a massive supporter of Nicki and a fan, and chicks sometimes don’t team up. I don’t know why, but I’m, like, huge on the girl power, so I just wanted to make a power girl track take over.”