‘Empire’ Season 2 Updates: Fox Fights Back In Keeping ‘Empire’s’ Name

Fox has filed a trademark lawsuit on Monday, March 23, in response to Empire Distribution, which is identified as a California corporation, demand that the network is going to pay $5 million for using the word “Empire.” The demand also includes Empire’s artists to be on the show or the network will have to “stop using the world “Empire.”

The first claim demanded the network to pay a whooping amount of $8 million to resolve potential trademark infringements and dilution claims. Fox received the first demand on Feb 16, and then the second came on March 6 with more demands as Fox portrays Empire Distribution as “commercially weak” when people do a Google search for “empire record level.”

"This letter, again authored by outside counsel, reiterated defendant’s trademark claims, asserted a new claim for unfair competition and gave Fox three 'options' to settle the claims made against it," states the complaint,” according to an exclusive report by The Hollywood Reporter. "(1) Fox could pay $5 million and include artists that defendant represents as 'regular guest stars' on the fictional television series Empire; (2) Fox could pay defendant $8 million; or (3) Fox could stop using the word 'Empire.'”

Empire’s CEO Ghazi Shami revealed that “Empire” is not just a fictional TV Show, but it also works as a record label. He said that the show has partnership with Republic Records, Atlantic Records, KObalt Publishing and eOne.

Based on the report, Fox is reportedly not going to pay up and will protect itself upon “a cloud over Fox’s intellectual property rights in the fictional television series Empire and the Soundtrack Music." The network will not allow anyone to leverage on “Empire’s” success which makes it a perfect target of countless and baseless legal claims, according to Fox attorney Marvin Putnam, of O'Melveny & Myers.

Meanwhile, “Empire” executive producer Ilene Chaiken can believe that the show has defied all the odds in television as the continued to rise week after week since its Jan 7 premiere. Now gearing for Season 2, Chaiken admitted that they are still in the process of deciding how many episodes for “Empire” Season 2.

For questions/comments regarding the article, you may e-mail the writer at rornos.IBTimes@gmail.com.