Pharrell has revealed that he and Chad Hugo are not currently on speaking terms amid their legal dispute over the ownership of their production duo The Neptunes.
Skateboard P touched on his fractured relationship with his former friend and collaborator in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, although he said he “wishes him the best.”
When asked if he and Hugo are speaking, Pharrell replied: “No. But I love him, and I always wish him the absolute best, and I’m very grateful for our time together.”
The N.E.R.D. legend also confirmed that his upcoming LEGO biopic Piece By Piece still features the voice of Hugo, who appears as himself, despite their falling out.
Pharrell’s comments come after he was sued by Chad Hugo over claims that he was “fraudulently” seeking sole control over the rights to The Neptunes’ name.
In a legal action filed in March at a federal tribunal, Hugo’s attorneys accused his former production partner and his company PW IP Holdings LLC of violating their longstanding agreement to split everything equally by attempting to unilaterally register trademarks for the Neptunes name.
“Throughout their over 30-year history, [Hugo] and Williams agreed to, and in fact, have divided all assets,” Hugo’s lawyer Kenneth D. Freundlich wrote. “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.”
The dispute centers around three separate applications to register “The Neptunes” as a trademark, filed in 2022, relating to the use of the name on streaming, music videos and live performances.
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The case could potentially extend to other trademark applications as Pharrell’s company previously registered The Neptunes name for musical sound recordings, and had another pending application to register the name for clothing and other merch.
A rep for Pharrell responded to the lawsuit by claiming there was no fraudulent intent behind the contested trademark filings, telling Billboard: “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.”
Hugo’s attorney rebutted: “If Pharrell’s intent was to include Chad in the filing, he should have registered it in the name of them jointly or as a partnership and not in his own name. This was a land grab in a long simmering dispute that has yet to be resolved.”
