The Real ATLiens: OutKast Sues EDM Duo Using 1996 Album Title As Group Name

OutKast is suing an EDM duo for using their 1996 album name, ATLiens, as their group name. The trademark infringement suit was filed on Tuesday (Aug. 20) in Georgia federal court, according to Billboard.

Legal reps for both Big Boi, né Antwan Patton, and André 3000, né André Benjamin, argued that the moniker — which is derived from the word “aliens” and their hometown of Atlanta — is a “novel linguistic term” and its usage by the electronic dance pair “confuses” fans.

“The word ATLiens was invented by OutKast. Before OutKast created it, it was not used in the cultural lexicon and did not exist,” the “Ms. Jackson” duo’s lawyers stated. “Defendant’s use of the ATLiens mark is likely to cause confusion, to cause mistake, or to deceive the public.”

According to the suit, the “other” ATLiens took on the name in 2012 and later registered it as a trademark. ATLiens by OutKast released in 1996 as their second studio album, featuring the single of the same-name. The group claimed that they were unaware of the dance group until recently, which brought on the lawsuit.

OutKast asserted that the names are “identical” and even claimed that the EDM group’s stage costumes conceal their identity, deceiving the public that they could be Big Boi and André 3000.

“The duo comprising defendant performs with masks on, thereby concealing their identities such that consumers will mistakenly believe that the members of Defendant are one and the same with – or at least somehow connected to – plaintiff,” OutKast’s lawyers stated. “Management for OutKast has already received communications from third-parties querying whether OutKast was affiliated with defendant’s upcoming show.”

Reportedly, the Grammy-winning group says it attempted to “negotiate an amicable resolution to the dispute” but that ATLiens has disregarded measures, and has continued to use the name in “confusing ways” – including a poster for a show in Atlanta that allegedly played on a similar poster used by OutKast in the past.

“ATLiens” is “one of OutKast’s most well-known and well-regarded songs,” states the lawsuit, while noting that the duo “continues to perform ‘ATLiens’ at nearly all (if not every single one) of its full-length live performances.”