Notable rapper Jay-Z made headlines recently after announcing that he would sue Boston Red Sox designated hitter David "Big Papi" Ortiz over--wait for it--the name of Ortiz's new nightclub in the Dominican Republic. Its name? Forty-Forty.
First of all, let's go over why Jay-Z finds this worthy of a suit. The rapper and minor league pitcher Juan Perez are co-owners of their own establishments, known as 40/40. Billed as sports bar/lounges, these clubs exist in six different cities across the globe, including New York City. Basically, Jay-Z seems to think that Ortiz lifted the name of his club off of the rapper's.
What's the problem with that? Well, though Ortiz's club's name is the same/similar, it's true, I don't even think this should be an issue. For those of you non-baseball fans out there, 40/40 refers to a player who hits forty home runs and steals forty bases in a single season. So it's a baseball term for both. If anything, Ortiz didn't actually name his club Forty-Forty because Jay-Z's clubs are named as such. He did it because it's a baseball term.
In the long run, Ortiz probably will have to change it if an agreement can't be reached, because no matter his intentions, a similarity is a similarity.
Still. A lawsuit? Really, Jay-Z?
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