Chris Brown is in hot water over his Breezy Bowl XX 2025 world tour, which is bringing massive crowds and is currently selling a variety of merchandise from swimsuits and bikinis to hats, coats, and more.
Miami-based fashion label Breezy Swimwear, Inc., filed a trademark infringement lawsuit on July 30 against Chris Brown, as well as Live Nation Entertainment, Inc., Merch Traffic LLC, and Shopify Inc. Breezy Swimwear, alleging that the defendants’ use of the terms “Breezy” and “Breezy Bowl,” as well as Brown’s 2024 clothing collection, particularly the “Team Breezy Playmaker” bikinis and the “BREEZY BOWL PLAYBOOK” one-piece swimwear, were confusingly similar to Breezy Swimwear’s own trademarks and swimwear logos, which were introduced to the market as early as 2018.
Breezy Swimwear is arguing that irreparable harm was done to its brand and image, and is demanding monetary damages as well as injunctive relief in the form of scrubbing all infringing marks from Brown’s promotional materials, websites, packaging, and social media, as well as the destruction or disposal of every single promotional product which bears the infringing marks.
Legal Implications & What’s at Stake
The Complaint alleges that Brown’s Breezy Bowl XX 2025 global tour effectively eclipsed the goodwill of Breezy Swim, “a Miami women-empowerment label,” which has successfully sold swimwear worldwide, and, since 2023, has “staged the Breezy Bowl–an open-call show that welcomes models of every shape, size, age, and experience level.” The Defendants are accused of copy-cat branding which creates a reverse confusion that “endangers [Breezy Bowl’s] identity.” Breezy Swimwear’s attorney, John Hoover, warned: “Celebrities do not get to overwrite small-business names just because they are famous.”
Breezy Swimwear argues that customers have repeatedly asked if “Chris Brown will attend Breezy Swimwear’s ‘Breezy Bowl’ event,” and that the name confusion may risk a diversion of sales, dilution of Breezy Swimwear’s brand identity, and even possible sponsorship loss. Breezy Swimwear alleges that neither Brown nor any of the other Defendants requested permission to use the term “Breezy,” “Breezy Bowl,” or any other confusingly similar mark before launching the world tour.
If Breezy Swimwear succeeds in its lawsuit, the Defendants could be ordered to pay restitution in the millions–as well as to destroy countless promotional materials, clothing items, and packaging–all because of a fairly predictable case of trademark infringement.
What is Trademark Infringement?
A trademark is a logo, name, slogan, or any other attribute which serves to identify the nature and source of a good or service, and is often used to help businesses identify their products and services to their customers. Some well-known examples of trademarks include:
- Apple’s iconic apple symbol
- The name“Coca-Cola”
- Nike’s “JUST DO IT” slogan and swoosh logo
- McDonald’s Golden Arches
- Starbuck’s mermaid logo
Trademark infringement occurs when an individual or a business uses–without consent or authorization–a trademark or a service mark in connection with its goods or services in a way which is likely to cause consumer confusion as to the source or origin of the goods or services.
To establish a valid trademark infringement claim against a defendant, a plaintiff must demonstrate the following:
- It has a valid and legally protectable mark;
- The Plaintiff owns the disputed mark; and
- The Defendant’s use of the mark causes a likelihood of confusion.
If a Plaintiff succeeds at proving these elements, it may be entitled to three main types of relief: (1) injunctive relief; (2) affirmative relief; and (3) monetary relief. Injunctions are the most common remedy, and are used to order the infringing party to cease and desist from any use of the contested marks. Affirmative relief is granted to order a defendant to remove the infringing logo(s) from the marketplace–this includes recalling and destroying products, producing corrected advertising, and issuing disclaimers clarifying any customer confusion between the parties’ logos and marks.
The appropriateness of monetary relief is left at the discretion of the court, which determines whether injunctive and affirmative relief were sufficient to satisfy the resulting damages of the infringement. If a court determines that monetary damages are required to make the plaintiff whole, an infringer could be liable to pay back: the profits made off the infringement, actual damages, attorney’s fees and costs, and reasonable royalties as a measure of the trademark owner’s damages.
All in all, trademark infringement cases can be incredibly costly, especially when dealing with multi-million dollar record contracts like Brown’s Breezy Bowl XX world tour.
A David vs. Goliath Case–How to Protect Yourself
We all know the story of David versus Goliath, where the little guy triumphs over the much larger, intimidating foe. In trademark infringement cases however, the story of the underdog is much less epic, and often more time-consuming, stressful, and expensive–especially when dealing with a party with much deeper pockets.
Even if Breezy Swimwear succeeds in establishing a valid claim for trademark infringement, it will have quite the uphill battle against giants like Live Nation Entertainment, Shopify, and Chris Brown’s legal team. With deep pockets and an army of lawyers, the Defendants will likely be able to delay proceedings for quite some time, and block Breezy Swimwear’s ability to restore and protect its trademark from growing confusion amongst customers and Chris Brown fans.
What can musicians, artists, and creatives do to protect themselves from trademark disputes?
Florida is well known for its popularity with businesses. As there are now almost 4 million active business entities registered in the state of Florida, it is crucial to look out for any existing trademarks, and to ensure your own marks are protected by the fullest extent of the law.
Trademarking your brand, slogan, logo, or related mark is the first step to gain protection under 15 U.S.C. §§ 1051, or the Lanham Act, which protects the owner of a federally registered mark against the use of similar marks if its use is likely to result in confusion among consumers, or if it will dilute the value of the mark.
However, it is important to diligently review the United States Patent and Trademark Office’s (USPTO) database to ensure your mark is not already in use by another business, and is not so similar as it could create confusion among customers and various audiences. This leaves a margin of error that could expose your mark to unwanted and unauthorized use–just like with Breezy Swimwear’s logo.
A licensed attorney can help guide you through many of the hoops that are trademark registration and protection, including:
- Determining how to protect your chosen trademark.
- Determining the correct filing basis for your specific trademark application
- Preparing and filing accurate trademark applications with the USPTO, including proper identification of goods and services.
- Selecting suitable specimens to demonstrate your trademark’s use in commerce.
- Responding to inquiries and refusals from a USPTO trademark examining attorney.
- Clarifying the scope of your trademark rights and effective enforcement strategies.
- Defending your trademark against third party challenges.
- Preparing and filing necessary documents with the USPTO to maintain your registration.
