Robert Clivillés, surviving co-founder of C+C Music Factory, has filed a $30 million lawsuit against Freedom Williams, the touring act's frontman, accusing him of fraudulently claiming trademark rights to the group's name despite never having been an actual member. The suit, filed on 14 August in the US District Court for the Eastern District of New York, follows years of tension between the pair and was reportedly triggered by the fallout from the cancelled Freedom 250 concerts on Washington's National Mall this summer, during which Williams made controversial public statements.

Clivillés, acting as his own attorney, accuses Williams of defamation, fraud, trademark infringement, unfair competition and breach of contract, and is seeking cancellation of Williams's trademark alongside compensatory and punitive damages. The lawsuit cites a profanity-laden video Williams allegedly posted on 29 May 2026 to the official C+C Music Factory social media account, which reportedly included offensive remarks, prompting Clivillés to launch a rival account to distance himself. It further alleges that after Clivillés issued a legal warning, Williams released a new single, "Into the Future," on 12 June using the C+C Music Factory name. Clivillés also stresses that neither "F" nor "W" appears in the group's original name, underlining his claim that he and the late David Cole, who died in 1995, were its only true members.