Afrochella slapped with lawsuit

On October 9, 2022, 4:15 AM

Organizers Goldenvoice, and the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, are suing Ghana’s Afrochella for alleged trademark infringement. On Wednesday, October 5, and obtained by Pitchfork. The lawsuit was filed at the California federal court.

Coachella and Goldenvoice alleged that Ghana’s Afrochella is “deliberately trading on the goodwill of Coachella and Goldenvoice’s well-known COACHELLA and CHELLA festivals and trademarks by actively promoting music events in the United States and Ghana using the confusingly similar mark ‘AFROCHELLA’ and by fraudulently attempting to register Plaintiffs’ actual trademarks as their own.”

Coachella Music Festival, LLC and Goldenvoice, LLC filed a similar lawsuit last year against Live Nation Entertainment for contributory trademark infringement.

The complaint was regarding an event organized and promoted by the Twenty-Nine Palms Band of Mission Indians called Coachella Day One 22.

Coachella and Goldenvoice sued Live Nation Entertainment for selling tickets to the event, which allegedly infringed upon Coachella’s trademarks. The lawsuit was settled earlier this year.

Meanwhile, Afrochella 2022 is scheduled to happen on December 28 and 29 at the El Wak Stadium in Accra, Ghana.

Artists headlining this year’s event are Burna Boy, and Stonebwoy as well as Fireboy DML, Black Sherif, Arya Starr, and more.

Pitchfork has reached out to representatives and attorneys for Coachella and Goldenvoice, as well as representatives for Afrochella.

Story By Pulse Ghana