Coachella and Goldenvoice, the festival’s organiser, filed a lawsuit against the Ghanaian music festival Afrochella on October 5 claiming that the event is “intentionally” using the more popular event’s trademark name.
The lawsuit claims that Afrochella is actively promoting music events in the United States and in Ghana using the similar moniker ‘AFROCHELLA’ and thus, fraudulently attempting to register Plaintiffs’ actual trademarks as their own. The lawsuit was filed in order to stop confusion, protect the bran and to stop the accused from using the name further in any acts of trademark violation.
Coachella has pursued legal action n the past in lawsuits for trademark violation. In 2021, the festival and Goldenvoice filed a similar motion against entertainment company Live Nation over a New Year’s Eve event titled ‘Coachella Day One 22’, which was organized and hosted by the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians. The lawsuit, which similarly claimed that the event was “intentionally trading on the goodwill” of the major festival, was subsequently settled in August last year.
Afrochella has celebrated Afrobeat music since 2017 and plans its upcoming 2022 event from December 28 – 29 at El Wak Stadium in Accra, Ghana. The line-up this year includes Burna Boy, Stonebwoy, and Ayra Starr
Neither Coachella nor Afrochella have responded or spoken publicly about ongoing lawsuits at the time this article was published.
