Temu Seeks to Dismiss Lawsuit Over Bootleg MF Doom Merch

In August the estate of MF Doom, which is administered by Gas Drawls LLC, filed a lawsuit against e-commerce giant Temu, alleging it’s selling counterfeit merchandise such as T-shirts, hats and posters that display the late rapper’s name and image. Temu is now seeking to have the case dismissed.

The claims:

• Temu’s attorneys claim it isn’t responsible for the actions of independent Chinese sellers who use the platform, and that it is simply the intermediary.

• As per Digital Music News, they also state that under intellectual property law, the platform can’t be held directly liable for infringement by third-party sellers.

• The attorneys also argue that while the estate of MF Doom is attempting to claim ownership of his likeness, post-mortem rights of publicity don’t exist in the UK, where MF Doom died in 2020.

Intellectual property:

• Temu claims to take intellectual property rights seriously, and has a “robust system” in place through which users can report infringement.

• It claims MF Doom’s estate failed to do so before resorting to litigation.

• Temu’s attorneys claim that “out of an abundance of caution and in accordance with its IP policies – not as an admission of merit to Gas Drawls’ claim – Temu removed every listing that it could identify from the poor-quality screenshots provided.”

The request:

• Temu’s attorneys have asked that the judge dismiss the MF Doom estate’s claims outright or, at the very least, its “irrelevant and inflammatory” allegations of “unethical” business practices.