Shkreli says Wu-Tang Clan should have say in lawsuit over one-off album

Martin “Pharma Bro” Shkreli, who’s been involved in a legal battle with PleasrDAO concerning a unique Wu-Tang Clan album, contends in court that the members of the hip hop collective should participate in the ongoing legal dispute.

Shkreli argued in a motion filed on January 6th with a federal court in Brooklyn that if his bid for dismissal is denied, then Robert Diggs (also known as RZA), a member of Wu-Tang Clan, and the album’s producer Tarik Azzougarh (known as Cilvaringz) should be added to the lawsuit. This is because they hold ownership rights to the copyrights for the disputed album.

In June 2024, PleasrDAO filed a lawsuit against Martin Shkreli, alleging that he unlawfully withheld and threatened to disseminate digital versions of the unique Wu-Tang Clan album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.” This action reportedly caused substantial financial damage and irreparable harm to the band.

In Shkreli’s argument, he stated that since Diggs and Azzougarh hold significant rights in the copyright of the Music Work, they are essential parties who should be included in this legal case.

If it’s decided that the Defendant completely owns the Music Composition, this would disrupt their 50% share and expose them to conflicting and contradictory responsibilities,” he pointed out.

In simpler terms, the ex-head of a pharmaceutical company argued that the contract for purchasing the album granted him half the copyright ownership of its contents. This right persisted even after selling the actual box, and it permitted him to produce duplicates as well.

As an analyst, I can share that I acquired ownership of a physical album in the year 2021, following a purchase from the Justice Department at a price tag of $4.75 million. The album was previously confiscated by the department after a 2018 conviction of its previous owner, Martin Shkreli, for securities fraud.

Responding to Shkreli’s motion to dismiss filed on the same day, PleasrDAO contended that their acquisition of the album from the government came with a stipulation: Shkreli relinquished all ownership, control, and claims related to the album.

1. He misunderstood the essence of our lawsuit, it argued, and requested the court to reject his claim instead.

2. The lawsuit was not correctly interpreted by him, it asserted, and asked the court to dismiss his application accordingly.

3. In other words, he got the nature of our lawsuit wrong, and we urged the court to throw out his request based on that misunderstanding.

4. Essentially, his interpretation of our lawsuit was off-base, so we implored the court to disregard his appeal.

5. The suit’s true character was not grasped by him, it contended, and thus, we asked the court to decline his proposition.

By August, Judge Pamela Chen instructed Shkreli to hand over every version of the rap group’s album that he has on record or otherwise, and also to sign a declaration confirming that he does not have any remaining copies.

In a letter sent to Judge Chen last September, PleasrDAO expressed doubt about Shkreli’s assertion that he had relinquished all copies of the album, suggesting that a more thorough search should be compelled from him.

In their January 8th correspondence, PleasrDAO’s legal team expressed that there are still some matters to be addressed regarding Shkreli’s adherence to the court order.

On December 9, PleasrDAO asserted they had provided Shkreli a series of additional queries to execute in search of any remaining copies of the album. Shkreli’s legal team stated that he performed some, yet not all, of these searches.

According to the group, they have reached out to Shkreli concerning the investigations conducted on December 24th and January 6th. However, as of yet, Shkreli hasn’t responded to their inquiry.

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