Following a firmly worded lawsuit from Coachella and Goldenvoice, DJ Envy has officially ceased billing “car-themed” live-music events as “Carchella.”
Goldenvoice and Coachella submitted the complaint to a New Jersey federal court late last month, naming as defendants DJ Envy (full name RaaShaun Casey), The Breakfast Club host’s namesake company, and a business called DJ Envy Auto. According to the in-depth action, 44-year-old DJ Envy’s Carchella happening – which took place in Atlanta on July 3rd and Atlantic City on August 14th, with additional dates scheduled – “uses a mark with identical stylization as that of” Indio, California’s Coachella.
Since 1999, Coachella’s own usage of the marks “has been extensive, continuous, and substantially exclusive,” according to the action, with higher-ups having invested north of $1 million in 2019 “in media and related content to promote” the annual music festival. Moreover, the plaintiffs likewise relayed in the suit that they own “the exclusive trademark and service mark rights” to “Coachella” as well as “Chella,” emphasizing last year’s Couchella event in terms of the latter.
Bearing these points in mind – as well as the “highly selective” process employed by the plaintiffs when licensing the Coachella trademarks to third parties – the filing entities then indicated that Carchella was “marketed to a similar fan base as” Coachella and “directly competes” with the event.
September 8th allegedly saw Coachella send DJ Envy’s counsel a cease-and-desist letter, demanding that the New York City native stop marketing his live-music event as Carchella and abandon a pair of related trademark applications (serial numbers 90688350 and 90688346). Additionally, Coachella higher-ups argued that their festival had been “irreparably harmed” by Carchella and asked the court to enjoin DJ Envy “from using and infringing upon” the related trademarks moving forward.
Now, the presiding judge has approved Coachella’s application for a preliminary injunction and a temporary restraining order, barring the defendants from “engaging in any infringing activity, including advertising, promoting, marketing, franchising, selling and offering for sale any goods or services in connection with the” Coachella trademarks.
The corresponding court order also prohibits DJ Envy and his team from “hosting, producing, or promoting any event” called Carchella, besides “assisting, aiding, or abetting any other person or entity in engaging in or performing any of the activities” outlined by Judge Claire C. Cecchi.
As mentioned, DJ Envy is currently organizing additional car-based entertainment events – one of which is slated to take place in Detroit on Saturday, October 30th, another of which is scheduled to commence in Miami on Sunday, December 12th. Tickets to the Detroit happening are on sale presently, and a promotional poster that DJ Envy recently posted on social media bills the event as the “Drive Your Dreams Car Show.” Said poster likewise advertises celebrity cars, amusement rides, carnival games, “trunk or treating,” and more, but doesn’t mention live music.
Back in November of 2020, Coachella settled a years-running legal battle concerning its “radius clause,” and Travis Scott and Rage Against the Machine are expected to headline Coachella 2022.