Photo Credit: Tim Mosenfelder for EMBA Fest 2020 via Getty Images
RZA is Going After Wu-Tang Clan Bootleggers Who Use the Logo
RZA has filed a lawsuit against multiple e-commerce stores for selling unauthorized Wu-Tang Clan products.
Martin Shkreli isn't the only Wu-Tang Clan exploiter that RZA has beef with. This week, it was announced that the Wu-Tang Clan leader has filed a $2 million lawsuit against bootleggers using the rap group's iconic sword-style logo.
According to Complex, RZA has accused multiple e-commerce bootleggers of "trademark infringement, infringement, counterfeiting, and false designation of origin." Presumed to be selling from businesses in China, these stores have used the rap group's brand logo on the unauthorized merchandise to appear authentic.
“Many defendants also deceive unknowing consumers by using the Wu-Tang Clan Trademarks without authorization within the content, text, and/or meta tags of their e-commerce stores to attract various search engines crawling the Internet looking for e-commerce stores relevant to consumer searches for Wu-Tang Clan products,” legal documents explain.
“Other e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases omit using the Wu-Tang Clan Trademarks in the item title to evade enforcement efforts while using strategic item titles and descriptions that will trigger their listings when consumers are searching for Wu-Tang Clan products. “Other e-commerce stores operating under the Seller Aliases omit using the Wu-Tang Clan Trademarks in the item title to evade enforcement efforts while using strategic item titles and descriptions that will trigger their listings when consumers are searching for Wu-Tang Clan products.”
In season two of Wu-Tang: An American Saga, the series explored the creation of the group's logo by Allah Mathematics. Along with seeking $2 million and profits from the items, RZA also seeks to halt unauthorized stores from selling imitation merchandise also asking e-commerce websites like eBay, Amazon and AliExpress to stop promoting these companies.