A company of Toronto’s mega-entertainer Drake, one of the world’s best-selling music artists, partially lost a trademark dispute over use of the word “6IX” — which Drake made a popular nickname for Toronto — to a little-known DJ.
Michael Di Cosmo, a Toronto disc jockey and music producer, proved he was using the term as his DJ moniker long before Drake popularized it, the Trademark Opposition Board ruled. The board, however, also denied Di Cosmo the trademark as a clothing brand.
“If this was a David and Goliath dispute, then David won,” said John Simpson, a Toronto intellectual property lawyer who represented Di Cosmo.
“I think most people would be surprised that in a dispute over entitlement to register 6IX for DJ services, someone other than Drake won,” Simpson said.
