Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo in legal dispute over ‘Neptunes’ trademarks

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — It’s not an April Fool’s joke.

Virginia Beach natives Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, aka “The Neptunes,” are in a legal dispute, Billboard reports.

Hugo’s attorneys filed a legal action last week that accuses Williams and his company of trying to “fraudulently” seek sole control of various trademarks associated with the acclaimed producing duo’s name.

“Throughout their over thirty year history, [Hugo] and Williams agreed to, and in fact, have divided all assets,” wrote Hugo’s attorney Kenneth D. Freundlich. “By ignoring and excluding [Hugo] from the any and all applications filed by applicant for the mark ‘The Neptunes,’ applicant has committed fraud in securing the trademarks and acted in bad faith.”

They added Williams’ team tried to to impose unspecified “onerous business terms” to the trademarks.

In response, Williams’ attorneys told Billboard there were no malicious intentions, and that “Pharrell is surprised by this.”

“We have reached out on multiple occasions to share in the ownership and administration of the trademark and will continue to make that offer. The goal here was to make sure a third party doesn’t get a hold of the trademark and to guarantee Chad and Pharrell share in ownership and administration.”

Billboard reported the lawsuit related to three different trademark applications, but legal action could expand to include other applications from Williams and his company.

This appears to be the first public dispute between the legendary duo, who were inducted into the Songwriting Hall of Fame in 2022. The two were behind numerous hits from the early 2000s, including “Hot in Herre” by Nelly, “Drop It Like It’s Hot” by Snoop Dogg and Williams and “Hollaback Girl” by Gwen Stefani.

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