50 Cent is reportedly nearing a settlement with Remy Martin in relation to the pair’s lawsuit over the Branson Cognac bottle.
The cognac brand had initially sued 50’s Jackson’s Sire Spirits in 2021 and accused the Branson Cognac bottle design of being a rip-off of Remy Martin’s Centaure de Diamant bottle. According to Reuters and Vibe, E. Remy Martin & Co claimed in a Manhattan court on Friday (February 3) that the Branson bottle was a”blatant attempt” to copy its X.O. design. The company described it as “nearly indistinguishable” from Remy Martin’s bottle, and called it a “near exact reproduction.”
Sire responded to the copyright infringement allegations on Monday (February 6), claiming the design itself is “simply too basic to be locked up by any single company.”
“No brand or company has the right to exclude others from making or selling curved bottles for Cognac or other alcohol,” Sire’s attorney Reena Jain stated. “Nonetheless, Remy Martin is on a mission to eliminate Sire Spirits from the Cognac market.”
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50 Cent himself had previously commented on the allegations in a since-deleted Instagram post, claiming that Remy Martin was just jealous of Branson’s successes.
“They are afraid of me already,” 50 wrote. “Branson Cognac is the new wave. REMY is #2 Behind Henny and worried about Branson SMH I’m just getting started.”
50 Cent isn’t the only mogul in the middle of a lawsuit with a major liquor brand. On Friday (February 3), JAY-Z agreed to a multi-billion-dollar deal with Bacardi in regards to the valuation of D’USSÉ, which comes after Hov opened up a lawsuit against the spirits giant in October, and accused them of a lack of financial transparency regarding their 50/50 D’USSÉ partnership.
In better 50 Cent news, the Queens legend celebrated the 20th anniversary of his seminal debut Get Rich or Die Tryin’ on Monday (February 6), and commemorated the moment by making a slew of special edition vinyls available to fans.
He announced that for one week only, fans can purchase a “personally autographed” vinyl of Get Rich or Die Tryin’ via his website, and said the limited-time offer also ties in with Hip Hop’s ongoing 50th anniversary celebrations.
“20 years ago today, I dropped the largest debuting hip hop album of all time,” 50 wrote on Instagram. “Here’s Your chance to Own a piece of History!”
While 50 Cent’s other business ventures have overshadowed his musical output, 2023 could be the year Curtis Jackson makes a musical comeback. He revealed in January that he’s working on his new album with Dr. Dre. “As soon as I said that, I got a text from [Eminem] that he had already spoke to Dre, and that Dre is in there and he got some crazy stuff for me to go hear,” he said in an interview on Big Boy’s Neighborhood.
“This is my process: I’ll go make something, what I can find, the best music that I can put my hands on. And when I feel real good about it, I bring it to put pressure on Dre to offer me something. ‘Cause he’ll have something… He’s always had something.”
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