Kanye West sues in N.Y. over ‘Coinya West’ bitcoins
NEW YORK — Kanye West has filed a New York lawsuit to stop production of “Coinye West” bitcoins that he says unjustly cash in on his fame.
The rapper’s lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Manhattan federal court. It seeks to stop companies and individuals that have not yet been identified from exchanging the digital currency. It also seeks unspecified damages for hurting West’s reputation.
The lawsuit says the creators of the digital coins “brazenly admit” that they used West’s name and likeness to associate their new currency with West because he is a trendsetter.
The lawsuit says entrepreneurs boasted that the currency can’t be stopped whether it “looks like a dollar, a dog or a cartoon picture of a rapper.” The virtual currency’s creators are using a cartoon image of a coin featuring the rapper in large sunglasses.