Cult Melbourne burger joint launches David and Goliath-style battle after rapper Kanye West drags it to court over being used as its ‘inspiration’
- Kanye West took Melbourne burger chain to court over its restaurant name
- Rapper took issue with College Dropout Burger as it shared name as first album
- Restaurant said it had disclaimer on its website West was not associated with it
Kanye West is refusing to drop his legal battle against a Melbourne burger chain over claims the restaurant and its meal names were taken from his album and songs without his permission.
The artist launched Federal Court action against College Dropout Burgers on Upper Heidelberg Rd, in Ivanhoe, in October.
In the 43-page document, West’s lawyers demanded College Dropout owner Mark Elkhouri ‘withdraw his Australian trademark application for College Dropout Burgers, destroy any material that references Ye or his branding, and pay their costs’.
West originally sent a cease and desist to the burger restaurant in June after learning of the similarities.
West took issue with the name of the restaurant as it is the same one used on his first album and complained about the titles of several menu items.
Mr Elkhouri has always insisted his business made it clear the restaurant was not associated with the artist.
Kanye West has taken a Melbourne burger chain to court over claims its restaurant and meal names were taken from his album and songs without his permission
The artist launched Federal Court action against College Dropout Burgers on Upper Heidelberg Rd, in Ivanhoe, in October (pictured, the restaurant has since changed the logo)
‘Gold Digger’ and ‘Good Morning’ were among some of the burger meals that had the same name as the songs produced by West.
A mural of West was also painted at the front of the store while the old logo of the restaurant was inspired by his ‘dropout bear’ design.
Mr Elkhouri filed a defence in November claiming there were clear disclaimers on the website that West had no association to the restaurant.
‘We have no association with Ye (formerly known as @kanyewest),’ the disclaimer read.
‘The College Dropout BurgersTM name references both Ye’s first album, as well as our origins as a business that started on a university campus here in Melbourne.
‘We are fans of Ye (FKA Kanye West) and his work. We pay homage to him with the names of some of our dishes, but of course he has no association with our business.’
The old menu, which has since been changed, by College Dropout Burgers after it received the cease and desist letter in June
Business owner Mark Elkhouri has insisted his business made it clear the restaurant was not associated with the artist
The burger joint opened up in May 2021 and received a cease and desist letter from West in June 2022.
Mr Elkhouri painted over the mural of West, changed the names of the burgers and changed the store logo.
He kept the name of the restaurant as it was also an homage to himself due to him dropping out of university (or college) to start the business.
The restaurant continues to serve food named after other well-known college dropouts like Mark Zuckerburg, Brad Pitt and Bill Gates.
West wants to bring in an injunction that will prevent the restaurant from claiming it has any approval from the artist.
‘Gold Digger’ and ‘Good Morning’ were among the burger meals that had the same name as the songs produced by West