Nelly News

Two members of a musical group called Vokal have accused rap star Nelly in a lawsuit of wrongly taking their name for his multimillion dollar clothing line.

James Tyrone Wilson and Cameron Caines are suing Nelly for trademark infringement and unfair competition. The singers want an injunction to stop Nelly from using the name and millions of dollars in damages.

"Right now, since we don't have an accounting of the profits, we can't completely quantify the damages," Michael Santucci, an attorney for the singers in Fort Lauderdale, said Wednesday.

Vokal Clothing Co., which makes Nelly's line of clothes, made more than $20 million in 2002, Santucci said, so a damage award could be a "seven or eight-figure number."

Lisa Buckley, an attorney for the clothing company and Nelly, whose legal name is Cornell Hayes Jr., didn't return two phone calls to her New York office.

Wilson and Caines have written music, performed live, recorded songs and distributed clothing under the name Vokal since 1994, according to the lawsuit filed last February in U.S. District Court in Orlando.

In 1998, Vokal signed a recording and distribution contract with Universal Records, around the same time the label signed Nelly. Wilson and Caines said they retained exclusive rights over the name Vokal when they signed with Universal Records, and that Nelly knew about the group and its business activities, the lawsuit said.

Shortly after signing with Universal Records, Nelly began selling clothing bearing the name "Vokal," according to the lawsuit.

"Nelly's people should have known about this since they were on the same label together," Santucci said.

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On the Net:

Vokal Clothing Co.: http://www.vokal.com/