Dr. Dre is a West Coast musician and businessman known the world over for his platinum-selling albums. for discovering Eminem, and for Beats, the headphones hanging around the necks of athletes and celebs.
He, however, is not a real doctor.
Dr. Drai, on the other hand, is an actual doctor — a Pennsylvania ob/gyn who appears on TV and has authored books on sexual health with titles like “20 Things You May Not Know About the Penis.”
The two doctors have been locked in a multi-year dispute — an East Coast/West Coast feud of sorts — over their names.
Drai (real name Draion M. Burch) wants to trademark the name Dr. Drai for his medical and motivational speaking services, and for his books, videos, podcasts etc etc.
Dre (real name Andre Young) has tried to block the application on the grounds that it could cause confusion between the two brands and falsely suggest a connection between them.
Last week, the trial and appeal board of the US Patent and Trademark Office dismissed Dr. Dre’s challenge.
Dre didn’t issue a comment after the ruling. But buried in the 49-page document is a quote from Drai which summed up how he felt about the matter:
“I was just appalled how someone would think that I wanted to be them and I actually went to medical school.”
