Kanye West’s lawyer orders “Coinye” to cease-and-desist just before launch | Hacker News Reader

Kanye West’s lawyer orders “Coinye” to cease-and-desist just before launch

arstechnica.com

38 pointsbcn23 comments

So the bet is 'Can we stay anonymous long enough to launch this thing, profit from the controversial publicity and cash out without being outed'.

Which one really is the gangster here?

Kanye West makes no claims about being a gangster. In fact, when his music first became popular, it ushered in an era of non-gangster "backpack" rap, at a time when "I've been shot 6 times" 50 Cent was on top of the charts.

Thank you for pointing this out, I often see rappers and particularly kanye being degraded by people who no little about the history of rap.( Not bashing your parent by the way. I mean in general.)

Great publicity stunt and does not look like this lawsuit has a leg to stand on. Good for them that Kanye took the bait.

I guess time will tell, but I think this is a pretty slam dunk trademark infringement case (like it or not). Also it isn't a function of them taking the bait or not, trademarks have to be actively defended if the owner wishes to retain them.

Do people really look at Kanye West as a "gangsta" rapper? A small matter but I find it interesting that the makers of the coin who I assume are either fans or at the very least familiar with his music labeled him as such.

No, they don't. Gangsta rap as a style and thematic focus is a long way from what Kanye does.

Also, it doesn't look like anyone described him as such - the article contains the quote "like isn't he some big fuckin' gangster." The context is that he's making threats, albeit legal ones. So while the would-be creators of Coinye are certainly coming off looking like morons, they haven't made the particular mistake of labeling Kanye as "gangsta."

I may be a little sensitive on this point since before becoming a programmer I made a living through the hip hop scene (DJ, security, etc...) but usually when someone makes a comment like that they are usually implying that the artist is a "gangsta" rapper. But again I might be just extra sensitive about the topic and wrong.

I dunno, he is closely associated with Dr Dre these days. But as you say it is neither here nor there.

He has virtually no association with Dr Dre.

Watch The Throne?

AFAIK Dr. Dre hasn't done a stitch of work for or with Kanye in any capacity.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Watch_the_Throne#Personnel

I don't think so. He's even mentioned on some songs that he doesn't see himself as gangsta rap.

http://rapgenius.com/9243

It is kind of a dick thing to do to someone. The creators are just profiteering off a celebrity's infamy.

Lawyers really don't understand technology... they just added fuel to the fire.

How is "technology" implicated in a relevant way here? Kanye is entitled to control how his name and mark are used, and it's utterly irrelevant whether the folks misusing the mark are creating a cryptocurrency or a specialty doughnut shop. You can't just wave your hands and shout "technology!" and pretend all the existing rules don't apply to you as a result.

What's shocking to me is how immature the creator of Coinye is being. What possible technological purpose does it serve to make the Kanye reference to name a cryptocurrency? It smacks of a childish attempt to create publicity. If I were Kanye I'd be pissed if someone tried to use my image and my fame to peddle his ideology-based product.

Crypto-currencies are the new Pyramid scheme, fueled by speculation and attention. By "taking the bait" as someone else in this thread put it, all they've done is hand the creators of Coinye a huge bucket of money.

I think the point is that the technology is designed to not have a central person or organization to sue or shutdown. So serving a cease and desist letter isn't just pointless, it is counterproductive.

Someone is writing the software and Web site; it didn't spontaneously evolve.

Uh, if there is nobody to sue, then who is doing the "launch?"

Have you been paying attention? (Dogecoin, etc)

cyberpiracy? All the other claims I could see but why throw cyberpiracy in there to make your argument weaker?

There is no "piracy" going on. Just a vague parody of a celebrity.

Personally I think we could all do with less celebrity worship so if this dies, all for the best.

Now dogecoin, that was fun and educational because you got to experience all the facinating things about crypto currency with low penalty and fast updates. Making a mistake with Bitcoin or Litecoin is an expensive learning curve by comparison.

The insinuation that kanye is trying to take over a crypto currency is laughable to me. Although the anti corporation sentiment of it would fit the theme of yeezus.

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