The longtime host of a Harlem R&B radio show called The Love Zone is suing Amazon over claims that the tech giant violated his rights by mentioning a fictional show of the same name in an episode of the Prime series Cross.
In a complaint filed in Manhattan federal court, Maurice “The Voice” Watts says Amazon and Paramount Television Studios, which co-produced the show, infringed his trademark rights with the 2024 episode of the crime thriller, in which viewers hear a “radio personality in a deep baritone” say “Welcome to The Love Zone.”
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Watts, who has hosted his own “The Love Zone” on WHCR-90.3FM for years, says the tech giant showed a “reckless disregard” for his rights by featuring the name in the Cross episode.
“Defendants’ use of ‘The Love Zone’ was neither incidental nor fleeting,” attorneys for the host write in the lawsuit, obtained by Billboard. “It functioned as a source‑identifying element within the story world to add authenticity and cultural resonance, trading directly on plaintiff’s goodwill.”
Watts has hosted the Love Zone for decades at WHCR, a Manhattan community station owned by the City College of New York that’s known as The Voice of Harlem. The show, airing on Fridays from 8 p.m. to midnight, features “old school soul, classics and R&B” to give listeners “a ride down memory lane.” The station itself is not involved in Watts’ lawsuit.
Though an unapproved appearance of his show’s name was likely frustrating for Watts, such a lawsuit faces long odds in court. The use of trademarks in “expressive works” like books and movies is usually allowed under the First Amendment; brand owners can only sue in rare situations that are explicitly misleading to consumers.
Watts says Cross‘s use of the name of his show clears that legal threshold, arguing that The Love Zone name has become “closely associated with Watts’s deep baritone delivery” during his decades on the air.
“The mark and persona have developed substantial goodwill and secondary meaning, especially within Black American communities and the broader listening public,” his lawyers write. “Plaintiff has suffered and will continue to suffer irreparable harm, including loss of control over his brand, damage to reputation and goodwill.”
Such lawsuits turn on whether or not consumers are confused, and Watts says the Cross episode has already clearly left many people perplexed: “Following release, listeners and members of the public contacted plaintiff via phone, text, and email congratulating him on his ‘Amazon/Paramount deal’ and presumed collaboration with Cross.”
Reps for both Amazon and Paramount did not immediately return requests for comment on the lawsuit.
