Anonymous EDM duo ATLiens have reportedly been handed a lawsuit by attorneys acting on behalf of André 3000 and Big Boi of OutKast, claiming that their use of the term "ATLiens" infringes on a trademark that OutKast say they registered nearly 30 years ago.

OutKast's 1996 album of the same name has sold more than two million copies in the US alone, and the title track remains one of their most popular songs with more than 186 million Spotify streams. Although the band have been inactive musically since 2014, their ATLiens merch lines are still doing business. As recently as June of this year, OutKast partnered with collector toy company Super7 to licence action figures based on the cartoon version of themselves from the ATLiens album cover.

In court documents filed in Georgia seen by Pitchfork, OutKast's representatives claim "The word ATLiens was invented by OutKast. Before OutKast created it, it was not used in the cultural lexicon and did not exist," requesting that a competing trademark filed by the EDM duo in 2020 be cancelled and that they be prevented from using the term "ATLiens" in future.

Speaking to Pitchfork, OutKast's representatives said that the duo had tried to resolve the "basic brand protection issue" amicably, but were left with no choice but to file the lawsuit when those efforts were "unfortunately unsuccessful."

At the time of writing, the masked duo – who have been active since 2012 – had not made any public comment on the lawsuit. They are due to headline Atlanta, GA's Coca-Cola Roxy theatre early next year.