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Apollonia, the singer, actress, and model who rose to fame through her collaboration with Prince and her appearance in the 1984 movie "Purple Rain," has taken legal action against the late musician's estate

She claims the estate is trying to cancel her trademarks and seize control of her professional name. Patty Kotero, her birth name, filed the lawsuit this week, arguing that Paisley Park Enterprises has been actively seeking to dominate the Apollonia name by submitting petitions to the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board. The estate maintains that Kotero transferred rights to the name as part of her "Purple Rain" contracts. Such disputes over intellectual property often arise after an artist's death, reflecting broader tensions between preserving a legacy and respecting individual contributions. It raises questions about how collaborative histories are managed when key figures are no longer present to clarify intentions. The legal filing states that since Prince's death in April 2016, his estate has consistently tried to claim authority over anything linked to him without proper legal grounds. It points out that any possible claims about contract violations from the "Purple Rain" era are now far too old to pursue under the statute of limitations. Neither Prince nor his representatives ever asked her to stop using the name Apollonia in any way. The document also emphasizes that Prince and Apollonia remained friends, and he supported her ongoing use of the name for her professional life. At this stage, a representative for the Prince estate has not commented on the matter. Kotero's attorney, Daniel Cislo, asserts that any fame and value associated with the Apollonia name over the past forty years are entirely due to her own efforts. He notes that she is the only individual connected to the name and that she holds several trademark applications and registrations to safeguard her brand. Court documents show that Paisley Park Enterprises initiated two cancellation proceedings against Kotero, one in 2019 and another in 2021. One of these cases is currently paused, while the other awaits a ruling on whether it will be suspended. Kotero's legal team has voiced concerns about the risk of conflicting outcomes if these two parallel cases proceed separately.

Category:SHOW BIZ NEWS

MSG team 2025-08-21