The lawsuit cites that the band's brand is 'extremely valuable,' and it has produced revenue in excess of $100 million from the intellectual property since the band was founded in 1981.
- Dec 30, 2016
AceShowbiz - Iconic hip-hop group Run DMC has filed a lawsuit against Amazon.com Inc., Walmart Stores Inc., Jet.com and other retailers for utilizing their name without permission. According to TMZ, Darryl McDaniels, the owner of Run DMC Brand LLC, is seeking at least $50 million of damages from the retailers and other defendants.
According to the lawsuit, which was filed on Thursday, December 29, the infringing materials that have allegedly been marketed and sold by the mega retailers are "too numerous to properly list." The products include fedora hats and square-frame sunglasses that use the group's name in their titles or descriptions. Meanwhile, other products, such as T-shirts, patches, wallets and other items, use the group's famous logo.
The group asserts that the giant retailers are "trading on the goodwill" of the band and confusing consumers by "advertising, selling, manufacturing, promoting and distributing multiple products with the logo." Thus, they make people believe that the band endorses their products.
The lawsuit cites that the Run DMC brand is "extremely valuable," and it becomes the object of several licensing agreements, including a $1.6 million deal with Adidas AG. It also states that the brand has produced revenue in excess of $100 million from the intellectual property associated with "Run DMC" trademark since the band was founded in 1981.
Both the companies and McDaniels' lawyer did not immediately respond to request for comments.
