Kanye West sues Coinye, themed digital currency, over trademark infringement

Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic

Kanye West wants to make money, but he doesn't want to be money.

The superstar rapper and music mogul filed a trademark infringement lawsuit Tuesday against the creators of a humorous new Kanye West-themed digital currency called Coinye that launched last week.

The logo for the currency, which is bought and sold over the Internet, features a cartoon version of West wearing his signature shutter shades.

The suit, filed in Manhattan Federal Court, argues, 'Defendants have willfully and admittedly traded upon the goodwill and notoriety of Kanye West, one of the most famous entertainers and brand names in the world.'

It seeks unspecified damages.

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The suit refers to Coinye as a 'crypto-currency' because it exists only as computer code, not in any physical form. Bitcoin is the most well-known crypto-currency.

'In interviews with the press, defendants brazenly admit that they adopted the marks Coinye West, Coinye and Coye to directly associate their newly minted crypto-currency with Mr. West,' the suit states.

The 'College Dropout' rapper, who had a baby daughter with fiancée Kim Kardashian last year, claims the Coinye creators are damaging his brand.

'With each day that passes, Mr. West's reputation is irreparably harmed. ... Consumers are likely to mistakenly believe that Mr. West is the source of these digital coins,' the suit alleges.

To demonstrate the problem, the suit lists 18 tweets posted by consumers about the new currency.

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'Kanye West now has a currency,' Twitter user Christopher Hudson wrote on Jan. 2, the suit notes.

'Move over bitcoin, @kanyewest is about to create the greatest digital currency of all time,' Chase Graves tweeted, according to the suit.

West filed a cease-and-desist letter on Jan. 6. But the defendants defied the 'Gold Digger' hip-hopper by launching their product on Jan. 11, the suit contends.

They released 666,666 Coinye units for use at an online 'Coinye Casino.' The number 'is closely associated with Mr. West and his 'Yeezus' album, according to the suit.

'We haven't heard from any lawyers yet, but we'd love to give (West's attorney) some house credit for a few free roulette spins,' a Coinye Casino programmer who goes by the name Jonny Bravo told the Daily News last week.

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The site CoinyeCasino.com was unavailable Tuesday.

Digital coin exchange websites 0DayCoins.com, Coinye-Exchange.com and Newchg.com are named as defendants in the suit, along with Amazon.com, which provides web hosting services for a number of sites that utilize the Coinye currency.

The suit also names Dogecoin, which operates the Coinye sites, Bravo and 100 additional unnamed defendants.

'We are just a few guys who want to take crypto-currency to the mainstream,' the anonymous creators wrote online.

'We would like to make it clear that we are entirely independent of (West), and there should be no confusion as to the intent or origin of this project. The name 'Coinye' is intended solely as parody, not an indication or implication of endorsement or involvement.'

Some supporters argue the point of crypto-currency is to create an international system free from government regulation that works as a cheap, egalitarian version of mainstream services such as Western Union.

West's lawyer, Brad Rose, didn't immediately return a request for comment Tuesday.

dbeekman@nydailynews.com