Bad Bunny Fights Copycats, Launches NFL Merch!

Bad Bunny's name may have started as a joke - but the Puerto Rican rapper is serious about protecting it, the Daily Mail can reveal

The singer's now iconic moniker was reportedly born out of an unhappy childhood moment when he was forced to wear a rabbit costume. 

'When I was a little boy in school, I had to dress up as a bunny, and there's a picture of me with an annoyed face,' he's previously revealed in interviews. 

'And when I saw it, I thought I should name myself, "Bad Bunny". It's a name I knew would market well.'

But while the nickname may have humble beginnings, legal filings show the Reggaeton star, real name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, 31, has little tolerance for others using it for financial gain.  

Court filings reveal that the Puerto Rican sensation has been embroiled in multiple legal disputes aimed at protecting his brand and trademarked identity. 

Bad Bunny, 31, has been embroiled in multiple legal disputes aimed at protecting his brand and trademarked identity, legal filings obtained by the Daily Mail reveal 

Bad Bunny and the NFL teamed up to release a line of merchandise 'blending football, music and culture', ahead of the Puerto Rican star's halftime performance on February 8 

The artist and his record label, Rimas Entertainment, have been actively protecting trademarks tied to his name with the US Patent and Trademark Office.

Most recently, in December, the team initiated litigation against Mike Pinzon, from Cypress, Texas, who was attempting to trademark the logo 'Conejo Malo' - Spanish for 'Bad Bunny' - to sell clothing and accessories, documents show. 

The case is ongoing and Ocasio and Rimas Entertainment have until the end of March to file official opposition documents. 

To fight the application, they've hired attorney Rebecca Liebowitz, partner at celebrity law firm Venable LLP and most recently used by Taylor Swift in her own trademark disputes. 

Bad Bunny has previously fought bootleggers flogging counterfeit merchandise outside US concert venues by filing complaints for trademark infringement and unfair competition against 'unlicensed peddlers' hawking 'unauthorized bootleg and inferior merchandise'.

Ocasio was successful in winning a permanent injunction against fake vendors at all his American gigs with law enforcement having the right to seize and destroy the imitations.

Fans of Bad Bunny wear merch emblazoned with his signature Bad Bunny heart, during his World Hottest Tour in December 2022 

The Reggaeton star, real name Benito Antonio Martinez Ocasio, has also been actively protecting trademarks tied to his name with the US Patent and Trademark Office

Bad Bunny is now set to take the stage at Super Bowl LX on Sunday - with the singer and the NFL dropping the first of two fashion collaborations, which 'blends football, music and culture', for fans ahead of the event. 

And judging by these filings, the entertainer has made it clear he wants his fans to buy the real thing. 

While the Latin hitmaker is evidently fiercely protective of his own intellectual property, he has also faced legal challenges of his own.

In 2023, he was sued by ex-girlfriend Carliz De La Cruz, who claimed he used a recording of her voice in two songs from his Un Verano Sin Ti album, 'Pa Ti' and 'Dos Mil 16' without consent or compensation.

De La Cruz said she recorded the phrase in 2015, at the request of her then boyfriend, and the pair got engaged months later before breaking up after he signed with Rimas Music - an arm of Rimas Entertainment - which is owned by Ocasio's manager, Latin music exec Noah Assad. 

'Pa Ti' has been watched over 450 million times on YouTube while 'Dos Mil 16' over 100 million. 

Despite being fiercely protective of his name, Bad Bunny has faced legal battles of his own, via his ex-girlfriend Carliz De La Cruz, pictured in 2015, who sued him for $40M in 2023

De La Cruz, pictured more recently, sued her singer ex for using a recording of her voice in one of his songs in 2023 without her consent 

According to De La Cruz's filing, 'Since then, thousands of people have commented directly on Carliz's social media networks, as well as every time she goes to a public place, about the "Bad Bunny, baby."

This recognition, she adds, 'has caused, and currently causes, that De La Cruz feels worried, anguished, intimidated, overwhelmed and anxious'.

De La Cruz is seeking $40 million, with the case still playing out in Puerto Rican courts. 

Although the Daily Mail has learned that a judge has dismissed most of the causes of action, two of them remain, including alleged unauthorized use of her voice and image in 'Dos Mil 16'. 

The court order adds: 'The cause of action for damages remains in effect for the unauthorized use of the recording in the song 'Dos Mil 16,' and for the commercial use of the image in said song without authorization.'

More recently, singer Tainaly Serrano Rivera filed a $16 million lawsuit accusing Bad Bunny of taking an unauthorized sample of her vocal line 'Mira, puñeta, no me quiten el perreo' (translates roughly as 'Look, damn it, do not take away my perreo'), which is featured in two of his hits, Solo de Mi and EoO.

Ahead of his highly anticipated Super Bowl debut, Bad Bunny picked up Album of the Year at the Grammys in a historic win 

A general view of Levi's Stadium ahead of the Super Bowl LX game between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks in Santa Clara, California, where Bad Bunny will perform 

Rivera claims that she recorded it back in 2018 for La Paciencia, Ocasio's producer.

'At the time of the request, the purpose of the audio was not explained. Nor was the plaintiff informed that her identity would be used and commercially exploited,' the filing states.  

'No compensation of any kind was discussed. No contract or agreement, license, or authorization of any kind was signed.' 

Meanwhile, Rimas Entertainment - owned by Latin music executive Noah Assad - has been fending off a combined legal complaint from the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros filed with the USPTO in September 2024. 

The MLB teams objected to the label's attempt to trademark 'LA H' for use on items such as baseball caps, t-shirts and hoodies.

They cited numerous examples of the similarity to their own trademarks - the Dodgers' world famous LA badge and the Astros star design.

They stated that the application would likely confuse fans and falsely suggest a connection to their own merchandise.

Four times, the parties have requested for proceedings to be suspended while they thrash out a settlement - the last time being in December where they were granted 90 days to come to a deal otherwise it will go to trial, currently penciled in for August.