Perhaps Snoop Dogg should stick to gin n’ juice, as the rapper’s foray into promoting cognac and brandy products caused him to become the subject of a decade-long arbitral dispute, which was finally resolved last month.
On January 25, 2021, a New York district court judge affirmed a nearly $2 million arbitration award against French cognac distiller Cognac Ferrand SAS (Ferrand) resulting from a dispute over $35,000 in royalties allegedly owed to rapper Snoop Dogg. The dispute arose out of Ferrand’s early termination of a five-year contract with U.S. liquor importer Mystique Brands (Mystique), pursuant to which Ferrand granted Mystique the exclusive right to import and market Ferrand’s “Landy” line of cognac and brandy. As part of the contract, Mystique agreed to enter into a marketing agreement with Snoop Dogg to endorse and promote Landy products.
