Queen Of Denmark Says Missys Clothing Line Infringes On Her Royal Mark

Article written by: Rodrick Rainey
Posted on: February 14, 2005

Hip-hop star Missy Elliott is locked in a trademark battle over her Respect Me line of clothing with the Queen of Denmark.

Queen Margrethe II complained that Elliott’s logo for the line which the “Work It” rapper designed herself, infringes on the Royal monogram.

Anne Putz, a representative for sports giant Adidas, who produced the line with Elliott, told website AllHipHop.com, “Adidas has never intended to copy the crown or any other symbols of the Royal family in Denmark or in any other country.”

“The Adidas design team worked directly with Missy Elliott on the logo which was created from the fact, that Missy Elliott is known as the queen of hip-hop. That’s why the logo ended up as a crown with the M.E. monogram resembling Missy Elliott underneath.”

The Queen demanded the logo be changed on the clothing line, which launched globally in November.

“Respect ME” was pulled from Danish shops because the crown logo used by the hip-hop queen bore such a strong resemblance to the crest of Danish Queen Margrethe. Nils Bartholdy, a senior researcher for the Royal Danish Archives who oversees use of logos connected with the Danish crown, confirmed to newspaper Ekstra Bladet that Adidas agreed to yank the line after receiving complaints from the Danish government.