Cassper Nyovest has defended his intellectual property over the phrase ‘Fill Up’ in a series of on-air radio interviews on Thursday, 6 September 2018.
Rapper Cassper Nyovest is famed for having filled up various stadium venues across the country. He is set to perform his next #FillUp event this December at Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. However, since the weekend, Nyovest has been embroiled in an on-going debate over his alleged trademark of the phrase, ‘Fill Up’.
Nyovest has accused Tsonga musician Benny Mayengani of stealing his idea, following Mayengani’s successful concert held at Giyani Stadium over the weekend. Nyovest’s manager, Lerato ‘TLee’ Moiloa, supposedly approached Mayengani before the concert on Saturday, urging him to desist from using the phrase. Moiloa claims that Nyovest trademarked the ‘Fill Up’ phrase over a year ago.
Social media has since been abuzz with debate around Nyovest’s right to claim intellectual property of the phrase. Many have made light of the matter, with some pointing out that Nyovest has not complete his high school education.
On Thursday, Nyovest spoke on the matter in two live radio interviews on Metro FM and 5FM. He explained that while he may not have a matric qualification, he has made sure to educate himself about the music industry. He clarified that he only owns the rights to the phrase ‘Fill UP’ in relation to live performance events and not in every day use. He then asked that should artists wish to replicate his idea of filling up local stadiums, that they title their events dissimilarly. He jokingly suggested that artists title their shows in Afrikaans to avoid any further conflict.
Following the interviews, Nyovest tweeted, “A lot of artists die broke because of the issue of ownership, they are mocked by fans & media yet when we educate ourselves, own our talent& ideas we’re attacked. I hope you’re learning through me. We’re about to #FillUpMosesMabhida on the 1st of December. Tickets at Computicket!!.”
