Combs Doesn't Mean "Diddy" In The U.K.

Sean Combs has enough money that he can pretty much call himself anything he wants, just as long as it's not "Diddy" in the U.K.

The hip-hop/R&B impresario has agreed to pay more than 110,000 pounds ($230,000) to settle out of court with London, England-based music producer Richard "Diddy" Dearlove, who had filed an unfair competition lawsuit against the Sean John owner.

Dearlove — who's probably best known for his dance remix of Blondie's "Atomic" and who had a minor hit in 1997 with "Give Me Love" — has been calling himself Diddy since 1992.

Combs, who has also called himself Puff Daddy and Puffy, adopted P Diddy as his moniker in 2001. He dropped the "P" from his name last year when he appeared on "Nasty Girl," a posthumous release from Notorious B.I.G.

Dearlove, 40, told Britian's Guardian newspaper that Combs' name change had caused confusion.

"I started getting emails from Puerto Rican girls asking if they could be in my video and people were asking me to look at their clothing line."

Solicitors Jens Hill & Co. said in an Associated Press article that Combs had agreed to "rebrand his commercial activities" in Britain and would "no longer be able to trade in the U.K. as 'Diddy.'" Combs paid Dearlove's costs as well as damages.

Dearlove told the Guardian that he was "happy and relieved. It doesn't matter how big people become. This is my name. I've been successful, too. I'm not a global megastar, but what I do is valid."

If a settlement hadn't been reached, the case was scheduled to go before the Royal Courts Of Justice in London on Oct. 23.

Diddy's Bad Boy Entertainment label will release his Press Play album on Oct. 17.