There seems to be a competition underway to trademark the term “No Diddy,” with Quilly, a rapper from Philadelphia, and another individual.
On social media, the new slang “No Diddy” is replacing terms like “pause” and “no homo,” which have been used in the hip-hop industry since the 1990s.
People are reassured by this that the person using it is not gay. But the reason behind the use of “No Diddy” is Diddy’s numerous recent lawsuits, in which the mogul of Bad Boy Entertainment is charged with disturbing sexual abuse.
Quilly announced to his followers on Instagram that he was the legitimate owner of the trademark for the widely used “No Diddy” phrase, as confirmed by the USPTO.
Quilly wrote, “My team gets the job done,” and included a screenshot of the trademark application. “I officially own #NoDiddy.”
But astute internet users noticed that “No Diddy’s” status section was blurry, and that’s because it’s still “pending.”
The “No Diddy” phrase was also applied to someone else using the name Edmond L. Carter III.
Quilly’s and Carter III’s applications are still pending, so the trademark is not yet formally owned by anyone.
Quilly is trying to trademark “No Diddy” using the letter D in lowercase, whereas Carter III is trying to trademark “No Diddy” using the letter D capitalized. This is the difference between the two trademark applications.
Who gets the go-ahead will depend on some factors, but Quilly filed for the trademark on Sunday, March 24, so he appears certain to win.