'Empire' Lawsuit: FOX Sues Distribution Company Over Name Rights

As FOX's surprise hit drama Empire climbed to the top of this winter's ratings, of course the lawsuits come rolling in. In a preemptive lawsuit filed by FOX, the network is claiming that is has the right to use and distribute music under the "Empire" name after a distributing company of the same name

Fox is suing Empire Distribution, Inc., a company that has claimed the rights to release music under the names "Empire," "Empire Recordings" and "Empire Distribution," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

FOX's preemptive lawsuit stems from Empire Distributions sending the network a list of demands, despite not having filed for the trademark on the phrase "Empire." The company asked FOX either to: "pay $5 million and include artists that defendant represents as 'regular guest stars' on the fictional television series Empire; pay defendant $8 million; or stop using the word 'Empire.'"

Empire Distribution's featured artists on its website include Sean Paul, N.O.R.E. and Keak Da Sneak.

But, FOX isn't buying Empire Distributions claims, asking for court fees and the right to continue using the phrase "Empire" without paying up to the other company. Citing Empire Distribution's poor Google ranking and the 1995 film Empire Records, FOX claims that Empire Distribution has no right to the word.

"Unfortunately, success today can often make creators a target for a myriad of baseless legal claims," FOX's lawyer Marvin Putnam said in a statement. "They hope you will just pay a little something from that success to make them go away. As underscored by today's complaint, FOX has no intention of allowing anyone to leverage Empire's success for their own unwarranted financial gain."

Empire's success not only stems from the shows ratings, which topped 17 million viewers for the season one finale, but also the show's first soundtrack, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200.

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