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Singer-songwriter George Clinton has sued former business partner Armen Boladian and his company Bridgeport Music. For context, Clinton was signed to Bridgeport Music, which is a Michigan-based music publishing house. The $100 million lawsuit filed on March 11, 2025, in the Florida District Court had accused Armen and his company of fraudulently obtaining copyrights, as per Variety.
The lawsuit claims that, besides Bridgeport Music, several other companies owned by Armen, namely Westbound Records, Nine Records, Southfield Music, and Eastbound Records, were also involved in the alleged fraud. George Clinton claimed that his signatures were forged, which were then applied to execute deals that gave away the rights to his music.
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Over the years, Clinton has been signed to a number of music labels like Parliament Records, Casablanca Records, Capitol Records, Paisley Park, Shanachie Records, Uncle Jam Records, and Invictus Records.
The lawsuit additionally stated that Armen Boladian had gotten the rights and ownership to about 90% of his catalog, reported Variety. While George was set to seek an order to block Armen from profiting from the ownership, one of the defense lawyers, Richard Busch, confirmed they were trying to dismiss the complaint. Busch added:
"This is just the latest in a series of lawsuits that Mr. Clinton has filed against Bridgeport and Armen Boladian over the last 30 years raising the same exact issues. He has lost each and every time."
Armen Boladian founded Bridgeport Music back in 1969. It reportedly has the copyrights to around 170 songs by George Clinton, as per a 2012 report by NPR.
"I have to fight for them," said George Clinton at a press conference while speaking about the latest suit and his tracks
The lawsuit against George Clinton mentioned that Armen Boladian, his partner from 1968 to 1975 and from 1981 to 1990, was involved in fraudulent activities. Further outside of the Apollo Theatre, Clinton, along with his attorney Ben Crump and another counsel, announced the suit. George said:
"These songs we’re talking about is my history. I have to fight for them, I have to make sure that I did not do all of this my whole life and have my family here, not get what’s due to them, what they inherit."
He additionally stated:
"We don’t have a chance to pass down 40 acres and mules to our families. We do not have the copyrights for the songs. So I’m here along with Ben and partners to make sure that Armen does not get what we worked so hard for."
According to George Clinton's lawsuit, most of the apparent fraudulent activities Armen committed were from 1982 to 1985. In order to dilute royalties, as per The Hollywood Reporter, Armen allegedly inserted fake songwriters' names like "L. Crane" and "B. Blaine."
The companies of Armen, named in the suit, reportedly hold no assets other than copyrights to songs owned by multiple artists, as per The Hollywood Reporter. These companies apparently also sued artists who had sampled George Clinton's music without licenses. However, Clinton claimed that he had never received any payments from these suits.
Further updates regarding the case are to be awaited.
