Robinhood sent out a newsletter in March 2021 that had an item about the market drop. The post had various cultural references, including an image of Ice Cube.
And the lyric “check yourself, before you damage yourself” from Ice Cube’s single “Check yo self” (which is rumoured to be Ice Cube’s “catchphrase”).
After Robinhood used Ice Cube’s likeness and slogan without permission, Cube wrote a cease-and-desist letter demanding that the company stop.
Ice Cube filed a federal lawsuit in California’s Northern District Court against Robinhood for allegedly continuing to use his likeness.
And catchphrase in violation of federal and state law, alleging false association, misuse of publicity rights, and unfair competition.
Ice Cube’s Robinhood Dispute Back in Court
The case between Ice Cube and Robinhood, a stock trading app, returned to court this week, with the same central dispute.
Whether or not a financial news service offered by Robinhood is advertising masquerading as editorial.
The rap artist filed suit against the bank because of an item published on the Robinhood Snacks news website in January of this year.
The headline of the piece, “Correct yourself before you damage yourself,” was a pun on Ice Cube’s lyric, “You better check yo self before you wreck yo self,” from his 1993 song of the same name.
The rapper claimed in court that his endorsement of the business was inferred from the article’s inclusion of his likeness.
Also, he said he didn’t want people associating him with “an unscrupulous and predatory behemoth.
That purports to be a financial services organisation for the average citizen [but which is] in actuality… a wolf in sheep’s clothing” in his lawsuit.
Robin Hood, According to O’Shea Jackson, Intended to “Punish” Him
the celebrity born O’Shea Jackson claims Robinhood wanted to “punish” him because his business partner.
Jeff Kwatinetz, is suing the Silicon Valley darling over its decision to block users from trading GameStop and other popular stocks in January.
Kwatinetz’s class-action case is one of several suits Robinhood is facing over the market frenzy led by rookie investors on Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum.
Conclusion
Ice Cube claimed that Robinhood’s use of his “distinctive” identity and celebrity status implied Ice Cube’s endorsement of Robinhood, and that this unauthorised endorsement constituted an injury in fact.
He based this claim in part on similar cases, such as Waits v. Frito-Lay, which was decided in 1992 by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
