‘Moechella’ festival founder responds to lawsuit from Coachella

nme.com:

Coachella, suggesting the organisations should “work together”.Goldenvoice, the organisation that operates Coachella, accused Moechella’s Justin Johnson and Kelsye Adams of creating “intentionally trading on the goodwill of the Coachella name” by using such a similar name to the festival, as well as using a “strikingly similar” logo.The suit also cited an incident that occurred at Moechella that allegedly caused “reputational harm” to Coachella.

A 15-year-old boy was killed and three other people were shot at an “unpermitted Moechella event” in Washington DC on June 19, 2022, which, it was argued, was “even more concerning tham the trademark infringement itself.”According to the Washington Post, Coachella is asking “for an injunction against use of the name and logo as well as any profits made using the term Moechella, plus punitive damages, attorney’s fees and compensation for ‘corrective advertising’.”In response, Johnson told Billboard that he’d been surprised to learn of Coachella’s lawsuit because he said he’d already agreed with their lawyers that he would “pivot away” from the “Moechella” name and had been continuing to do so.“These events are protests that have spawned out of the gentrification of D.C.

and the erasure of the culture in this city, not festivals for monetary gain,” Johnson said. “It’s surprising that a multi-billion dollar company is approaching a non-profit organization like this.”Johnson later told Fox 5 that the name was never chosen with the intention of “profitable gain”, explaining: “I want people to know the root of it, that it’s rooted in protest.