Apollonia vs. Prince Estate | Matt Connarton Unleashed

0:00 Speaker 1: Let's see a little bit of music news here. This is from from NME dot com. Prince's a State responds to Apollonia's quote frivolous lawsuit. Uh this, I remember when when this first broke this, uh this news about uh Apollonia Kato getting into a bit of a conflict there with about Paisley Park, the recording studio that Prince had on his estate, and uh, you know, I've been a fan of uh so coincidentally, I won't I can't say who this individual is or how I know them, but Jenny, I think you'll know who I'm talking about.

0:34 Speaker 1: Yesterday I spent time with someone who h he was wearing a shirt of Prince when Dove's Cry. And I always compliment tom on whenever he wears that shirt. But but yeah, because when Doves Cry? Uh when when that was a big hit, when when we were kids, and I would play that song over and over and over, and you know, huge huge Prince fan. And I've seen Purple Rain I don't know how many times, because you know, it would be on HBO all the time and I would just watch it over and over and over. By the way, poly c from Retrospect Radio with poly c has never seen Purple Rain?

1:07 Speaker 2: Can you believe that?

1:08 Speaker 3: But he never watched I.

1:09 Speaker 1: Know he's never seen that. He's never seen this as spinal tap, he's missing out. But so this is the story from eneme dot com. Princess of State has responded to singer songwriter Apollonia's lawsuit, dismissing it as frivolous and unwarranted. The US artist, actor, and former model a real name, Patricia Apollonia Kataro, starred in Prince's classic nineteen eighty four film Purple Rain, portraying his love interest who has the name Apollonia. She recently filed the fourteen page complaint against the late Icons of State Paisley Park Enterprises in a Los Angeles federal court, accusing it of attempting to steal her name.

1:47 Speaker 1: Kataro claims in the suit that after appearing in Purple Rain, Prince never asked her to stop going by the name Apollonia and did not quote contend that the name did not belong to her, either personally or professionally unquote. She alleges it was on the contrary, and that quote Prince himself consented and encouraged Apollonia in her professional endeavors unquote under that name. Kato has now used the name for over four decades and released numerous projects using the alias. Her legal team claims that Prince's Estate was out of line when it tried to claim ownership of the Apollonia trademark in June.

2:26 Speaker 1: She alleges that the estate filed an intent to use application that would allow it to use the name in connection with clothing and entertainment services. Kato also claims that Paisley Park Enterprises has made moves to try and cancel her trademark applications and registrations despite her being the rightful owner now the estate. By the way, this is a different thing than what I the conflict I was referring to earlier, because prior to all of this, Apollonia was complaining about something else related to this organization and the Paisley Park Recording studio.

2:59 Speaker 1: But apparently that's a completely separate thing. So I don't know whatever happened with that. I guess nothing, but this is this is interesting. So now the Estate has responded via a written statement posted on Prince's official social media channels, quote regrettably, Miss Patty Kataro aka Apolonia filed a frivolous lawsuit as she acknowledges Apollonia is the name Prince gave to the character played by Miss Kataro in Prince's movie Purple Rain over forty years ago. We never instructed her to sease using her adopted professional name, nor did we object to her business activities.

3:30 Speaker 1: In fact, we repeatedly offered her opportunities to perform at Paisley Park using this professional name.

3:36 Speaker 2: Unquote. So because wait, can.

3:39 Speaker 3: We mention the fact that he didn't come up with it out of thin air? It's her middle name.

3:44 Speaker 2: Yeah, her middle name is with the name right right, Yeah.

3:48 Speaker 3: And the way they're talking about it really galls me because it's like, do you remember when when Prince was in a fight with the label and he wrote slave across his cheek. Yeah, and he wouldn't use the name Prince because of the way they were using his name.

4:04 Speaker 1: Yeah, he became an unpronounceable symbol. Yes, And the artist formerly known as the same.

4:08 Speaker 3: Damn thing being done in reverse to her, Well, it's her middle name. He didn't pull it out of thin air. No, Yes, he named the character that, but it's her right.

4:18 Speaker 1: Well, but the other weird thing is they're they're claiming they never told her not to use the name. So I don't I don't know what the hang up is here. There's more than this article. But I wonder if maybe there's a matter of how she uses the name.

4:31 Speaker 3: Yeah, but they've gotten in the way of her trying to trademarcket herself her own name.

4:37 Speaker 2: Yeah, own herself.

4:40 Speaker 1: That's that's that's true, right, she wants to be able to own the name. It says here. Also, h oh, this is also.

4:48 Speaker 3: I remember they said that they that the name doesn't belong to her personally or professionally. It's her middle name. How does that not belong to her personally?

4:59 Speaker 1: There are are exceptions though, trademark law and copyright law and intellectual property. It's all very fascinating to me, But there's.

5:06 Speaker 3: There say it doesn't belong to her.

5:08 Speaker 2: But there's there's but there are there are exceptions.

5:10 Speaker 1: Just as a random example, because Hall and Oates, for example, they recently settled.

5:14 Speaker 3: Uh oh did they finally?

5:15 Speaker 1: They finally through arbitration, they settled their whole legal dispute. But so let's say, for example, your name is Daryl Hall, and you have a friend named John Oates and you decide you're going to form a musical duo and go out and perform, and those are your real names. It doesn't matter. You're still gonna get slapped down for that, you know what I mean.

5:33 Speaker 3: Okay, but that's different. That's something happening after the fact. The creation of Apollonia, the character came in part out of.

5:42 Speaker 2: Her right, Well, I'll tell me.

5:44 Speaker 3: Yeah, he named the character after he cast her, not before. He didn't come up with the name Apollonia and then go, oh, look, I found a chick who has the Appollodia middle name. That's not what happened. I met her, wanted to cast her and then name the character her middle name.

5:59 Speaker 1: Yeah, And I don't know what Prince's long term intentions were with that, but I do know it can get complicated. Dealing with Prince was complicated because Morris Day of Morris Day in the Time. Sure, he's talked about that, how difficult that was. Because you know, so you watch you you watch the movie, and of course Morris Day on the Time as one of the bands in the movie. And then but if you do some digging, you find out that was really Prince's band. You know, he put he put those guys together, Uh, Jimmy jam and Terry Lewis, who went on to become very successful producers.

6:33 Speaker 1: Uh they produced Janet Jackson and stuff. But they were also a part of that band along with Morris Day. That that was the time. That was Prince's creation. And then and then so Morris Day had problems with you know, so later on years after Purple Rain, he's trying to tour as Purple Rain. I mean, I'm sorry, as Purple He's trying to tour as Morris Day on the time, and he's got, he's got he's getting a hard time.

6:56 Speaker 3: About it because if she was trying to use Apollonius, no I'm not, I'm not which was her, But now I'm a c No, I'm just saying.

7:03 Speaker 1: All I'm saying is that's com dealing with Prince was complicated. That was That was my only point.

7:08 Speaker 2: That's true.

7:09 Speaker 3: It is true. But it is interesting that you bring that up because he did create the time, just like he did create Apollonia six, which was her with.

7:17 Speaker 2: Two other girls.

7:19 Speaker 3: Was so weird, right, six but three people, and you know, and that was his creation, and that was music. He created her and in the name Apollonia, I'm sorry, it's her middle name. Let her use her dang name.

7:37 Speaker 2: They should, well, they are trying.

7:38 Speaker 3: To use Apollonius. No, but they're stopping own her own name. And that I find I find is really upsetting to me because it completely flies in the face of what Prince did in his time to have ownership of himself and what he did to teach the music world about ownership of health, ownership of artistry. Right, the whole that went on for like how many how long did that go on? Was it two years?

8:07 Speaker 2: Longer than that that went on?

8:08 Speaker 3: That he was fighting with them to honor himself, and that's what he was fighting for. This is to me, this is this is the same damn thing. It's her middle name. It's her name, right, he can pull it out of thin air. He named the character after her, Yeah, right, she should get to use it. She should be able to own them saying that them them saying she has no ownership to no right to it, personally or professionally. The personally really gets me because it's her middle name. She has every right to it.

8:40 Speaker 3: I don't know how many people I've met in my lifetime that go by their middle name, or like parents, especially like guys who have sons named Junior, instead of calling him Junior, they might call him David the middle name, or instead of little Bill and big Bill. You know exactly exactly. They should let her own her own dang name. They shouldn't be so selfish. Well, and new sides effect, why are you paying so much attention to this princess state? How about the eight thousand or whatever songs you've got in that vault.

9:08 Speaker 3: You got enough music in that vault to be releasing an album like every year for the rest of my life and beyond. So why aren't you concentrating on that. You've got a ton of money making material. Leave her alone, let her own her dang name. That's my opinion on it.

9:23 Speaker 1: Well, the other thing, too is I don't know from their I mean, I guess they're going to I guess their attitude is they're going to defend the intellectual property of quote unquote the estate, no matter what, and and but and I understand that from a legal perspective to a point.

9:42 Speaker 2: But at the same time, what value.

9:45 Speaker 3: Like collectual property here?

9:48 Speaker 2: No, no, no, but.

9:48 Speaker 1: I'm just saying though from a financial standpoint, like what value is that name specifically in terms of market like what are you marketing where you're making money off of the name Apollonia?

10:01 Speaker 3: You know what?

10:01 Speaker 2: I refer to her too.

10:02 Speaker 3: They refer to her as Patty.

10:04 Speaker 2: Oh yeah, I noticed that. I noticed that.

10:06 Speaker 3: No Patricia, appolonial Kataro, because they're not gonna use the whole name because I don't want you. They don't want you the public to know that that's actually her middle name. People believe that he pulled it out of thin air and named her.

10:18 Speaker 2: Yeah, most people.

10:19 Speaker 3: You know, that's what people think. I would be. I would, I would, I would go out on a limon say that probably eighty percent of the American public believes that Prince pulled the name out of thin air and that's where the name came from, not that it was actually her middle name, right, you know that For them to I just seriously, they have so much money already, and there's so much material to make billions of dollars more. How much money do you need? Grotesque greed? Let the child have her name.

10:50 Speaker 2: No, I agree with you? Uh, they say too.

10:54 Speaker 1: In their statement, the lawyers for the estate quote miss Kataro's unwarranted lawsuit comes at the tail end of years long disputes before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board concerning trademark registrations in which rulings are imminent and with respect to which we have sought a settlement numerous times despite her highly unreasonable demands. Unsurprisingly, her suit fails to acknowledge the cancelation of her Apollonia registration by the United States Patent and Trademark Office. We look forward to the rulings and the pending trademark proceedings and a dismissal of Miss Gato's recent federal action as is, as is our duty, we will continue to protect and preserve Prince's assets and legacy.

11:30 Speaker 3: Un Prime me a river with that bowl of a mot of malaccy Seriously, I bet you money that they had something to do with the cancelation of that trademark.

11:42 Speaker 2: I don't know. Yeah, maybe they.

11:44 Speaker 3: Won't leave her alone to have it their calaiming her. Frivolous I call you, frivolous, Princess state, Yeah, leave her alone, let her have her middle name, let her live it's her name.

11:54 Speaker 2: Yeah, leave her.

11:56 Speaker 3: You know they made that character together utilizing her middle name.

12:00 Speaker 2: Leave him both alone.

12:01 Speaker 3: You've got tons of money to make in that vault. Oh my god, Like, really, what if they released from the vault anything and they have how many late thousands and thousands. They're so dis disclosively, so much music in there that they could quite literally release songs for the rest of my life and not run out, and your life probably and not run out. He has so much material in there, and they've all admitted to it, but they're sitting on it, like you want to make money, there you go, you got a you got a vault full of probably a billion dollars, not not even exaggerating.

12:38 Speaker 2: Right, go do that?

12:41 Speaker 3: Why this?

12:42 Speaker 2: Why this?

12:42 Speaker 3: Why are we being so petty