Jay-Z and his legal representatives asked a judge to stop arbitration proceedings pertaining to an ongoing trade mark case in late November this year. This was apparently due to a lack of diversity in the American Arbitration Association (AAA).
The famous celebrity and his legal team have subsequently withdrawn their motion to halt arbitration following an indication by AAA regarding a change in its process and the implementation of Âmeasures intended to improve the diversity of its members. Â
Jay-ZÂs lawyer has stated in previous correspondence that Âwhile the information AAA provided has confirmed that AAA lacks an appreciable number of minority (and particularly, African-American) arbitrators, AAA has indicated an openness both to an arbitrator selection process in this Arbitration that will allow for meaningful consideration of African-American arbitrators and to broader remedial measures intended to improve the diversity of the arbitrator roster for future arbitrations.Â
Arbitration proceedings were originally initiated by Iconix Brand Group, which bought Jay-ZÂs Rocawear in 2007. The American brand management company has asked the rapperÂs team to furnish financial information about their companies. In a 2017 lawsuit, the former claimed that it owns the Roc Nation trade mark which is allegedly being infringed by Jay-Z who is employing the logo for Major League Baseball apparel.
