Real Housewives of Potomac stars Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon are not done in their fight to depose rapper Eminem, In Touch can exclusively reveal.
Gizelle, 53, and Robyn, 45, filed a request for reconsideration as part of the fight with Eminem [real name: Marshall Mathers], 51, over a trademark.
Last month, The United States Patent and Trademark Office Board ruled Gizelle and Robyn could depose Eminem’s manager but not the rapper.
The duo is fighting the ruling.
They argue, “Mr. Mathers’ deposition is critical in determining ownership, validity of rights, state of mind that pertains to fame, along with actual confusion issues, and current use.”
“By limiting [Gizelle and Robyn] recourse to only deposing a third party witness, and not the [Eminem] himself, and then being forced to respond to a Motion for Summary Judgment where a number of facts will remain in dispute because [Gizelle and Robyn] were not given an opportunity to depose [Eminem], [Gizelle and Robyn] will be denied the opportunity to present a full throated defense to [Eminem’s] premature motion,” the response read.
The drama started last year when the reality stars filed an application to obtain the trademark for “Reasonably Shady,” the name of their podcast.
The application was filed by The United States Patent and Trademark Office Board. Gizelle and Robyn had plans to use the trademark to sell merchandise and various products. Eminem and his legal team opposed the application.
The rapper claimed he worked for over a decade to build up the Shady trademark. Eminem owns the trademarks for Slim Shady, Shady and Shady Limited. He argued that people would believe he was associated with the podcast or the products sold by Gizelle and Robyn.
He asked the The United States Patent and Trademark Office Board to shut down the application.
“[Robyn & Gizelle’s] mark Reasonably Shady, simply looks and sounds like Shady and suggests that it represents the services of Mathers,” Eminem’s lawyer argued.
The attorney said, “Reasonably Shady so resembles Opposer’s mark Slim Shady, Shady and the mark Shady Limited in terms of appearance, sound and commercial impression as to be likely, when applied to [Robyn & Gizelle’s] goods, to cause confusion and mistake and to deceive.”
The Bravo stars scoffed at the suggestion people would believe Eminem was somehow involved in their projects due to the name “Reasonably Shady.” The duo asked for permission to depose Eminem to grill him about his trademarks.
However, the musician’s team argued he should not have to sit for a deposition and offered his longtime manager, Paul Rosenberg, to testify. “Rosenberg has worked with Mathers in connection with his career continuously since at least 1997 and well before his hit album The Slim Shady LP was first released in 1999,” Eminem’s team wrote.
The reality stars fired back and said both men should appear for a deposition.
“An assertion of Mr. Mathers being too busy will not be enough to avoid having to sit for a deposition,” an attorney for the RHOP stars said. “As [Robyn and Gizelle], both celebrities in their own right, have provided the courtesy of sitting for deposition for [Eminem], it is not overly burdensome for [Eminem] to extend the same courtesy for his obligation.”
As In Touch first reported, The United States Patent and Trademark Office Board ruled on the matter in July.
The board said the reality stars could depose Eminem’s manager but not the rapper. The United States Patent and Trademark Office Board order said that Gizelle and Robyn failed to “demonstrate that” Eminem’s “deposition, rather that (or in addition to) Mr. Rosenberg’s deposition, is needed to respond to the summary judgment motion, particularly given Mr. Rosenberg, not [Eminem], provided the declaration supporting the motion.”
The case is ongoing.
