Afeni Shakur, mother of the late hip hop icon Tupac (2Pac), and Amaru Entertainment, Inc., the principal interests in the estate of the late hip hop icon Tupac Shakur, affirm that no trademark infringement upon the Marco Bellini clothing line has been made by the hip hop clothing line Makaveli Branded “MB” logo. 

Last week Isaiah Israel, owner of the T-shirt clothing company filed a claim for the second time this year that Amaru Entertainment is in copyright infringement, alleging that since 2003, his company has had sole possession of rights to the stylized “MB” logo. 

Donald N. David, General Counsel for Amaru Entertainment and shareholder at Akerman Senterfitt LLP says “There is no basis for Mr. Israel's suit and an appropriate answer has been filed in the action that he has commenced denying all of his baseless allegations.” Mr. David addedsaid “In addition, an action has been commenced to cancel Mr. Israel's mark in that he has failed in use such mark in interstate commerce as required.”

In 2004, Amaru Entertainment received the Trademark Office’s approval for the Makaveli Branded “MB” design, effectively confirming the logo did not infringe upon any other registered mark, including Israel’s Marco Bellini. Soon after Israel sought financial compensation directly from Amaru Entertainment for infringement, which the company outright rejected.

While it is obvious that anyone can commence an action under our legal system,” said David. “Amaru fully expects that it will not only prevail in this action, but that it will seek and be awarded attorneys' fees and that Mr. Israel's mark will be cancelled.”