Johustleburg Apparel (Pty) Ltd, owners of the trademark Johustleburg on Thursday said that they have not accused rapper Emtee of stealing anything and that they do not have any intentions of stopping him from releasing his latest single using the same name!
READ – Emtee says he’ll not change Johustleburg amid legal threats!
“Firstly, we have not accused Emtee of stealing anything, or do we have any intentions of stopping him from releasing his single titled ‘Johustleburg’,” reads a statement issued by their legal representative – Chengetayi Mariti.
Chengetayi Mariti said that they have been closely following Emtee’s social media feeds since he announced that he was releasing his project and since he’s been using the name on his pages.
“He (Emtee) has also requested designers to provide him designs. This activity, especially the calling of designers prompted us to reach out to Emtee through his manager ‘Dumisani’. We informed him that we are the owners of the trademark Johustleburg in relation to clothes and apparel and that we own the copyright of our website designs and domains. We also expressed that we are open to discussing possible collaborations. His manager said he will consult with Emtee and revert to us which he did not do,” explained Chengetayi Mariti.
The company founders are Elton Nyariri and Munyaradzi Chiwedu. They’ve registered the South African trademark Johustleburg under Class 35.
The company owns the following domains:
- www.johustleburg.com,
- www.johustleburg.co.za,
- Facebook – JOHUSTLEBURG
- Instagram – JOHUSTLEBURG.OG
- Twitter – @johustleburg5
In stating their current position: “We welcome collaborations with artists in the music industry and beyond whose interests align with ours. However, we will also take the necessary steps to ensure the protection and integrity of our intellectual property.
Therefore, we warn any designers using or intending to use similar trademarks to ours in relation to clothing, our websites, and domains to desist from doing so. Any artists, corporates, and businesses, entities, or persons may contact us for engagement through our sites and pages provided above,” reads the statement by Johustleburg Apparel (Pty) Ltd.
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