Sean Combs Loses Use of "Diddy" in UK

London-based music producer Richard "Diddy" Dearlove, who has been trading under the name since 1992, sued Combs, for "passing off" after learning that the rapper had dropped the "P" from his name. The British law of passing off is designed to deal with unfair competition, in particular with businesses that suffer when another one adopts the same name.

"I was all ready to go last year, then, in August, he changed his name to Diddy. I was gutted. I started getting emails from Puerto Rican girls asking if they could be in my video and people were asking me to look at their clothing line." Mr Dearlove told the Guardian.

"My lawyers and I were trying to convince the court there was confusion caused by two people trading under the same name," said Mr Dearlove.

"It doesn't matter how big people become. This is my name. I've been successful too. I'm not a global megastar, but what I do is valid. I'm really happy and relieved. I didn't want to go to court. It was me versus something enormous and I had a year of stress with legal proceedings hanging over me."

Combs will have to embark on a costly re-branding in the UK and pay Mr. Dearlove £110,000 in legal fees and damages.