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Saturday, March 5, 2011

Akon Sues Former Booking Agent for Trademark Infringement

R&B star Akon is suing his former booking agent for breach of contract and trademark infringement. The singer/producer and bosses at his Kon Live Touring, Inc. company filed a complaint against American Talent Agency, Inc. on Thursday, March 3 in New York.

The plaintiffs accuse ATA's officials of failing to pay "earned performance fees" and "booking unapproved appearances and performances for Akon". Akon's company terminated its relationship with ATA in 2010 and instructed bosses there to immediately stop providing any further booking services on the star's behalf or exploiting Akon's name, picture or likeness for commercial purposes.

But a spokesman for the star says, "Despite terminating the booking agreement, ATA has secretly booked appearances for Akon in, among other places, Dubai, India, Nigeria and Singapore. ATA has wrongly received substantial deposits from promoters hoping to secure Akon's appearance at events."

"ATA has yet to pay Kon Live Touring at least $750,000 in performance fees for live shows Akon already performed and it continues to falsely advertise itself as Akon's booking agent on the ATA website. Creative Artists Agency, LLC is Akon's exclusive booking agent."