When your rap name is something like “IDK,” you likely should expect to either never have your name trademarked, or wait several years before the request gets taken care of. For Maryland rapper IDK, formerly known as Jay IDK, he can finally celebrate having his name trademarked, revealing that the paperwork was completed this week.
The 29-year-old rapper has been having an outstanding year behind the scenes, teaching his “No Label Academy” course at Harvard and handing out plenty of advice to new artists. Now, he can teach his students about the importance of marketing yourself as an artist and securing your trademark, because he’s just done exactly that for himself.
“After years of hard work, I officially owned the ‘idk’ trade make [sic],” tweeted IDK on Thursday. “Talk to me before you use this shit.”
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He can’t exactly control how many people are using “IDK” in text conversations on a daily basis, but now if anyone tries to sell unofficial merch, he can crack down on them with his new trademark paperwork.
Congratulations to IDK on securing his patent!
The rapper previously partnered with Nike this year, also talking about his major collaboration with MF DOOM, Westside Gunn, and Jay Electronica during a recent interview. Read more about that here.