RZA Files Lawsuit Against Stores Selling Counterfeit Wu-Tang Clan Merchandise

RZA, the formidable leader and co-founder of hip-hop’s Wu-Tang Clan, has filed a lawsuit against several e-commerce sites selling counterfeit merchandise of the group.

According to Complex, RZA wants to prevent the sites from selling the fake merchandise and is requesting $2 million for the use of “each and every” Wu-Tang trademark or the profits made from the brand and damages for trademark infringement. He is also asking major online retailers like Amazon, eBay and AliExpress to stop promoting these products.

Complex obtained the legal documents in which RZA accuses the merchandise bootleggers of trademark infringement, counterfeiting and false designation of origin. The counterfeiters are also thought to be running the businesses in China and using Wu-Tang Clan’s brand to trick consumers into thinking the merchandise is 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,” the legal documents state.

“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.”

However, the producer has worked with other brands.

Last fall, RZA, who is vegan, partnered with Upfield’s Violife vegan cheese brand to announce that five Black-owned restaurants were the recipients of its 2021 Plant Grants. The new program aims to make plant-based meals more delicious, affordable, and available in local communities.

“I’m excited to work with the Plant Grants restaurants because they are on the front line of the plant-based revolution in their communities, through their recipes and the individual touch they put on their dishes to give their customers a great meal,” said RZA.