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The investor and businessman Martin Shkreli has argued in court that Wu-Tang Clan members should have their say in the legal case he’s involved in over a one-off album.
The only physical copy of the hip-hop group’s unreleased 31-track album was forfeited by Shkreli, known as Pharma Bro, some years ago to pay off court debts. The album ‘Once Upon a Time in Shaolin’ was sold in 2015 under the condition it could never be publicly released.
Shkreli reportedly purchased it for $2M, but after it was out of his possession he was sued by the cryptocurrency collective PleasrDAO who now own the album. They claimed the investor still held digital copies of the one-off Wu-Tung Clan album.
Wu-Tang Clan album drama highlights issue of copyright and ownership
Some months on, Shkreli said in a January 6 dismissal motion to a federal court that if the bid for dismissal is unsuccessful then it should involve members of the group. This refers to group member Robert Diggs and the album’s producer Tarik Azzougarh.
He said they should be included as “they maintain a property interest in the copyrights” to the album.
The motion states: “Finally, if this Court does not dismiss the Complaint in its entirety, it should order joinder of Robert Diggs p/k/a The RZA and Tarik Azzougarh p/k/a Cilvaringz to this action because they maintain a property interest in the copyrights to the Musical Work at issue in this matter.”
This follows an extensive back-and-forth between the parties involved in the case, with the band’s work being right in the center of it.
In August of 2024, Shkreli was ordered to hand over all the copies of the album he possesses. He was also asked to sign an affidavit stating he doesn’t have them anymore.
Later, a letter was sent to a judge in September asking for a more thorough search for any remaining copies of the album.
This ongoing legal fight highlights the contentious topic of copyright and ownership in this new world of NFTs and cryptocurrency.
Featured Image: AI-generated via Ideogram
