PleasrDAO, a digital art collective group, has filed a lawsuit against Martin Shkreli, also known as the “Pharma Bro.”
The legal battle centers around the rare Wu-Tang Clan album “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin,” which PleasrDAO acquired for a staggering $4 million after Shkreli was forced to forfeit it in 2018 following his fraud conviction.
In the lawsuit filed on June 10th in a Brooklyn federal court, PleasrDAO claims that Shkreli violated rules by making illegal copies of the album and publicly playing it online without approval. After his 2018 fraud conviction, Shkreli was ordered to properly maintain the asset and not allow its value to be diminished.
However, Shkreli has openly defied these instructions, even mocking PleasrDAO on social media by stating he would stream the album online after being blocked by PleasrDAO. Leaking the album’s content could severely hurt its exclusivity and PleasrDAO’s ability to profit from it in the future.
The lawsuit further argues that any public release of the album will greatly diminish and destroy the album’s worth, as well as harm PleasrDAO’s reputation. It also accuses Shkreli of improperly benefiting by promoting these allegedly illegal music files.
PleasrDAO is demanding Shkreli turn over an inventory of his copies, allow the files to be seized, pay damages, and more. On the other hand, Shkreli has rejected the lawsuit, stating that PleasrDAO members were not given the chance to vote on the lawsuit
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