In a trademark infringement lawsuit, America’s Twenty One Pilots have accused China-based Temu of marketing and selling the band’s counterfeit merchandise.
The rockers attorneys accused the Asian online retailer of being a “veritable swamp of infringing and otherwise illegal products”, adding that it “manufactures and sells a myriad of items that are counterfeit or blatant copies of (Twenty One Pilots) artwork, trademarks and intellectual property”.
Obtained by Rolling Stone, the lawsuit is riddled with screenshots of what looks to be listings on Temu for an array of allegedly fake merchandise, including posters, shirts, mugs and socks.
The suit notes that some of the Temu-available items appear to be identical to items currently for sale on the Twenty One Pilots website.
The lawsuit opens states that the massive online retailer is “widely understood to be one of the most unethical companies operating in today’s global marketplace,” and alleges that Twenty One Pilots’ trademarks “have been damaged and put at risk by Temu’s knowing and systematic marketing and sale of counterfeit versions”, which they describe as “confusingly and/or virtually identical to” their own trademarked materials. It goes on to cite a complaint recently filed by the State of Nebraska, which alleges that Temu has “flooded the United States with cheap products” and “fuels a whole host of other harms”, including its alleged sale of copyright-protected materials.
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Author: Saul Goode
Photo: Mr. Rossi