Rapper Kanye West has launched a lawsuit against a group of online entrepreneurs who are using his likeness to promote a new cryptocurrency.

The Stronger hitmaker's lawyers filed a cease-and-desist order against the creators of Coinye West last week (ends10Jan14), claiming trademark infringement.

Following the legal threat, the creators changed the name of the currency to Coinye, altered the image of the logo, which features a cartoon likeness of the rapper, and switched their domain to one registered in India, before launching two days early on 07 January (14).

On Tuesday (14), West filed a lawsuit in a New York court seeking an injunction against executives at several companies including Bravo, Dogecoin and Amazon.com, which provides web hosting services for websites utilising the Coinye currency.

The rap star is also seeking a portion of the profits claiming the Coinye West creators have harmed his reputation, according to Tmz.com.