A legal battle over intellectual property rights involving prominent Hip-Hop producer Madlib and the “Lord Quas” character has erupted.
He initially created Lord Quas, aka Quasimoto, to experiment with his voice.
The legendary producer/rapper discovered that by altering the speed of his recordings, he could craft an entirely new character, Lord Quas, who could say things Madlib might not.
The voice character debuted on record in Madlib’s song “Styles Crews Flows Beats” in 1998. Griego claims the picture version of the character was created for Madlib’s 1999 “Microphone Mathematics” single cover.
In 2000, Madlib released the debut album with himself and the Lord Quas character, titled The Unseen.
Since then, Lord Quas has appeared on album covers and merch, and he even has his own Instagram account with almost 500,000 followers – more than Madlib himself.
Griego says the Lord Quas character belongs solely to him under copyright laws, even though he waited almost 20 years to claim the rights – he registered the album cover featuring the character with the U.S.
Copyright Office on January 7, 2023.
Griego asserts that the producer’s actions constitute intentional copyright infringement and seeks monetary compensation and a judicial order to halt further misuse of the character.
In addition, he demands a declaration that the federal trademark for Lord Quas, obtained by Madlib Invazion LLC, be invalidated due to its unpermitted registration.
Ethan Jacobs, Griego’s attorney, emphasized the lack of permission and compensation concerning using the “Lord Quas” imagery.
“Mr. Griego was gratified to see that Madlib appreciated his Lord Quas character so much. At the same time, he was hurt that [Madlib] continued to use it without compensation, attribution, or permission,” Jacobs said.
Jacobs said that despite numerous communications, Madlib and his representation failed to justify or rectify the unauthorized usage.
