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Robert Clivillés, co-founder of the 1990s dance music group C+C Music Factory, has filed a federal lawsuit against rapper Freedom Williams seeking $30 million in damages. The legal action centers on allegations that Williams has been profiting from the group’s name and brand without authorization for decades.
According to the lawsuit, Clivillés and David Cole established C+C Music Factory in 1990 as a producer-driven project, with Williams hired solely as a featured vocalist on hit tracks including “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” and “Things That Make You Go Hmmm…” The suit contends that Williams’ contractual arrangement with the group ended in 1992, but he began using the C+C Music Factory name independently in 1996, the year following Cole’s death.
Clivillés claims Williams obtained fraudulent trademark registrations and has earned between $5,000 and $10,000 per performance while operating under the group’s name without permission. The lawsuit also alleges Williams misrepresented himself as a founding member when securing trademark protections in 2015. Clivillés is demanding that Williams cease all use of the trademark and pay substantial damages for years of unauthorized commercial activity.
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Originally reported by Rollingstone →
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