Kanye West Sues Amazon Over ‘Coinye West’ Currency

It's all about the electronic benjamins, baby.

By Jamilah King Jan 15, 2014

Kanye West is angry again, but this time he’s got good reason. Amazon’s part of the new fad of digital currency (aka "cryptocurrency") and there was a strand of it going around named "Coinye West." 

West has filed has accussed the online retailer of trademark infringement. According to The Hollywood Reporter:

The hip-hop artist has filed a lawsuit, looking to hold liable those who have tendered the digital money. If he wins the lawsuit alleging publicity rights and trademark violations, he could get some cold, hard cash — a.k.a. the Benjamins (no disrespect intended to Mr. Franklin).

[snip]

In his complaint filed in New York federal court, West says that consumers are likely to mistakenly believe that he is the source of the cryptocurrency. The lawsuit provides examples of tweets like the one fromChristopher Hudson, who wrote, "Move over #Bitcoin, @kanyewest now has his own cryptocurrency called @CoinyeWest."

The hardest part for West and his legal team will be identifying the anonymous consumers who have exchanged "Coinye" currency. But the suit alleges that Amazon is encouraging and contributing to websites’ use of "Coinye."