Kanye West has suffered another major business setback when the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office abandoned hundreds of his trademark applications, including 20 attempts to gain rights to the controversial name “Yews.”
The trademark failures are the latest blow to West’s business empire, which has been crumbling since anti-Semitic outbursts in 2022 and 2023 cost him lucrative partnerships with Adidas, Gap and other major brands.
According to Radar, West’s trademark company, Ox Paha, submitted applications for “Yews” in multiple categories, including food, beverages, clothing, home furnishings, jewelry and news reports.
The News Coverage category was designed for his short-lived alt-right website Yews News, which shut down in 2024 after only a few months of operation.
In the past 12 months alone, the patent office has rejected approximately 350 Ox Paha trademark applications.
Many applications expired because the company failed to demonstrate how to use the trademarks within the required timeframe. According to public records, the Trademark Office has not approved a single Ox Paha application in the past five years.
West made a series of anti-Semitic statements beginning in October 2022, when he posted on social media that he would conduct a “Jewish Death Hoax 3” and later attempted to use the “Yews” trademark.
His rhetoric escalated in the following months, including praising Adolf Hitler during an appearance on Alex Jones’ show in December 2022. The comments sparked a backlash that destroyed West’s multi-billion dollar fortune almost overnight.
According to Forbes, Adidas terminated its partnership with Yeezy, causing an estimated $1.3 billion in lost revenue and ending West’s billionaire status.
Gap, Balenciaga and other fashion partners also severed ties with the rapper, while streaming platforms and radio stations removed his music. The anti-Semitism controversy effectively blacklisted West from mainstream business partners and cost him an estimated $2 billion in deals.
When West met with Israeli-Moroccan rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto in New York in November 2025, he seemed to recognize the damage his anti-Semitic rhetoric had caused.
In a private meeting, West apologized for his past comments and said he was “taking responsibility” for promoting anti-Semitism.
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The rapper blamed his anti-Semitic behavior on his bipolar disorder and expressed his sincere remorse to a prominent Orthodox rabbi. The apology comes after years of refusal to recant from his controversial comments.
Despite the trademark setback, West spent 2025 and 2026 working on rebuilding his business empire. He relaunched his independent Yeezy brand, releasing new footwear, including YZY BL-01 sneakers and YZY SL-01 slides sold directly through his website.
The new Yeezy line marks West’s first major product release since losing his partnership with Adidas.
West has also been preparing for a musical return with his 12th studio album Bully, which he confirmed will be released on January 30, 2026. The album was originally announced in September 2024, but faced multiple delays as West worked on the project.
He unveiled Bully’s tracklist via a new website, bully.yeezy.com, emphasizing physical formats like vinyl over digital streaming, which seems to be an anti-streaming stance.
The album’s release represented West’s attempt to regain control of his music distribution. To support the album’s release, West has announced his first major tour in years, with dates set for throughout 2026.
The tour will kick off with two large-scale performances at the Memorial Bullring in Mexico City on January 30, 2026 and February 1, 2026, marking his return to the venue after 17 years.
The Mexico City concert broke venue attendance records, and West’s team announced that ticket demand exceeded that of major sporting events.
Additional tour dates in North American and European cities are expected to be announced in 2026.
