Songz filed a counterclaim in Hester’s trademark suit against the singer and songwriter. Hester, who shouts “Yuuup!” as he bids on abandoned storage lockers and obtained a trademark on the term in December.
Songz, whose real name is Tremaine Neverson, insists that he owns the expression while Nester insists “Neverson’s [version] resembles an animal-like or nonhuman squeal which begins with a distinct ‘yeeee’ sound before finishing with a squeal-like ‘uuuup’ sound, and is distinct and different from Hester’s more monosyllabic-sounding guttural auction bidding phrase.”
What should be the focus is the absurdity of both claims and the continued expansion of trademark and copyright laws to claim ownership over common terms, expressions, and symbols. When will Congress act to end this nonsense?
As for the rival claims, you can compare and decide:
Source: NY Daily News as first seen on ABA Journal.