2021.08.12 - Bloomberg - Guns N’ Roses Back on Tour With Lawyer to Hunt Bootleg T-Shirts (& related articles)

Guns N’ Roses Back on Tour With Lawyer to Hunt Bootleg T-Shirts

* Band targeting ‘parasites’ selling unlicensed GNR merchandise
* Court order sought to seize items sold outside concert venues

By Christopher Yasiejko

Guns N’ Roses went on tour this month for the first time in almost two years, including an Aug. 3 concert in Boston’s Fenway Park, where front-row seats fetched $2,000 each. But along with its roadies, instruments and stage props, the rock band also brought its lawyers.

As fans return to music venues shut since the start of the pandemic, so is unlicensed souvenir apparel, like the t-shirts and bandanas hawked by vendors on nearby streets. Guns N’ Roses is filing lawsuits in tour cities to combat what it says are illegal peddlers that deprive the band of tens of thousands -- sometimes hundreds of thousands -- of dollars per night in merchandise sales.

“These bootleggers are, plainly and simply, parasites who wrongfully profit from the tremendous energies and reputations of performers,” Kenneth Feinswog, a lawyer for Global Merchandising Services Ltd., said in a court filing in New Jersey the day before the band’s Aug. 5 concert at MetLife Stadium. The company has exclusive license to sell GNR merchandise at U.S. concerts.
Branded products remain big business for the band, which rose to fame in the late 1980s with hit songs like “Welcome to the Jungle,” “Paradise City” and “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” GNR has sold more than 40 million recordings and more than $15 million of merchandise, court filings show. Its trademark is owned by lead singer Axl Rose, guitarist Saul “Slash” Hudson and bassist Michael “Duff” McKagan.

On GNR’s merchandise website, fans can buy everything from $25 branded shirts to $500 leather jackets, as well as a $35 top-hat skull belt buckle, a $30 Yo-Yo and a 500-piece jigsaw puzzle for $25. Knockoffs sold on street corners at concerts cut into demand for authorized products and the band doesn’t get any of the money.

The music business is no stranger to legal fights over trademarks and copyrights. What’s less common are lawsuits like GNR’s targeting street-level vendors rather than big makers and distributors of bootleg products, said Jayne Durden, a vice president of law firm strategy at intellectual property management firm Anaqua in Boston. Still, it can be surprisingly effective at discouraging illegal sales, even though few bootleggers ever show up for court and most cases die, she said.

“This is Whac-A-Mole, but with a massive paddle that makes some noise,” said Durden, based in New Alexandria, Virginia.
As GNR began its two-month, 23-city “We’re F’N’Back!” tour, it got court orders in Boston and Newark to allow police and federal marshals to seize unlicensed merchandise within a certain distance from venues for six hours before the concert and three hours after. Rose, Slash, Duff and the company selling their licensed goods have asked a federal judge in New Jersey for a blanket seizure order that applies to all the concert sites.

‘No Monetary Relief’

“There really is no monetary relief that can be obtained in this case,” Feinswog, who also represented the rock stars in the Newark court, told a judge during a video hearing on Tuesday. Instead, the intent is to discourage illegal sales by enforcing the seizure order, he said.

“Major bootleggers understand the economic realities and limitations of the artists’ efforts to stop illegal merchandise sales,” Feinswog said in a court filing. “And they are extremely sophisticated regarding whether a ‘Seizure Order’ has been entered for a particular concert.”

Feinswog didn’t respond to requests for comment.

A nine-person security team hired by Global Merchandising seized 417 unlicensed shirts outside the concert at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, according to court papers. At a show in Detroit a few days later, security personnel nabbed nine vendors and confiscated 240 bootleg shirts, including some listing GNR’s 2021 tour dates that could be sold at other venues, a court filing shows.

The court’s seizure order “serves as a deterrent because our enforcement causes the infringers to spend most of their time avoiding us,” according to an affidavit filed by Jason Lee, who was hired by Global Merchandising to help with the crackdown. “Based on our experience, we expect that we will see the same infringers again at subsequent concerts.”

The cases are Global Merchandising Services Ltd. v. Does, 2:21-cv-14510, U.S. District Court, District of New Jersey (Newark); and v. Does, 21-cv-11214, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts (Boston).

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-12/guns-n-roses-back-on-tour-with-lawyer-to-hunt-bootleg-t-shirts

Blabbermouth, August 13, 2021:

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Guns N' Roses Lawsuit Seeks To Stop Counterfeit Merchandise

Guns N' Roses' merchandising company has filed a lawsuit to get a judge's order that it can use to direct federal marshals, and authorize local and state police and agents hired by the company to seize bootleg T-shirts and similar items during the band's current tour.

Global Merchandising filed the complaint in New Jersey three days before the band's August 5 concert at MetLife Stadium for trademark infringement and unfair competition against various unnamed defendants described in the complaint as "parties who are selling unlicensed and infringing merchandise bearing the trademark, likenesses and logos of the musical group known as Guns N' Roses." The defendants were, according to the complaint, going to "sell unauthorized merchandise bearing the names, logos, likenesses, trademarks and artwork of musical performers without their permission and without payment of royalties to them."

The complaint went on to note that "about 400,000 people are expected to attend the Guns N' Roses concerts on its present tour."

Kenneth Feinswog, a lawyer for Global Merchandising Services Ltd., said in the court filing: "During the past 35 years of tremendous commercial growth of popular music, the public has not only purchased millions of records and concert tickets for entertainment but has further sought to identify themselves with and declare allegiance to their favorite performers by purchasing various articles of merchandise, t-shirts, patches, posters, photographs, jerseys, caps, belt buckles, jackets and other items that embody the names, photos, likenesses, logos, trademarks and/or artwork of such performers. Unquestionably, the aforementioned public statement of identification and allegiance to the performers and the souvenir value of the aforesaid merchandise is the reason why fans will pay more than $35.00 for a t-shirt displaying the performer's name or likeness which t-shirt might otherwise retail (without such name or likeness) for $4.00.

"Concurrently with the growth of the legitimate merchandising business, an illegal multi-million dollar industry has developed in the United States involving the unlawful manufacture, sale and distribution of 'bootleg' merchandise bearing the names, trademarks, trade names, likenesses or artwork relating to popular entertainers."

He continued: "Defendants are individuals and companies commonly referred to as 'bootleggers' of merchandise who, without permission or authorization, misappropriate the names, likenesses, logos, symbols, artwork and/or trademarks of performing artists and musical groups for use on merchandise that the 'bootlegger' Defendants peddle to the general public in order to cash in on the musical performer 's huge commercial value and reputation, all in violation of the rights of those individuals and companies that possess the exclusive right to engage in such commercial activity.

"To add insult to injury, the merchandise that the bootleggers manufacture and sell is, in most instances, of inferior quality and not only violates Plaintiffs ' rights but adversely affects the general public and irreparably injures the performers ' reputations for excellence and integrity in the pursuit of their professional careers.

"The glut of bootleg merchandise on the market deprives the artists, whose names, likenesses, symbols, logos and designs appear on the illicit infringing merchandise, of the earnings and credit that they (the artists) deserve from the investment of their capital and their creative energies into the development of their careers. These artists have licensed other companies to engage in legitimate merchandising activities on said artists ' behalf (such as Global Merchandising Services, Ltd.) and these companies are suffering as well from the competitive effects of the illegal activities conducted by Defendants."

Feinswog added: "Defendants are preventing these artists from controlling the manner in which the artists desire to be presented to the general public and have given the public the false impression that their illicit and inferior merchandise was either sponsored or approved by those artists.

"Moreover, since the bootleggers pay no royalties, and no fees to the stadium or concert hall where their illegal product is peddled, and upon information and belief, no taxes in connection with the sale of said merchandise, the bootleggers (defendants herein) are able to undercut the prices of the legitimate vendors who abide by the law in the conduct of their
business activities to Plaintiffs ' substantial detriment.

"These bootleggers are, plainly and simply, parasites who wrongfully profit from the tremendous energies and reputations of performers in the entertainment industry, and who flagrantly and unlawfully impede such artists in their personal and professional advancement."

Global Merchandising filed a similar lawsuit three years ago prior to the start of Slayer's farewell tour.

In August 2010, Live Nation filed a lawsuit against several "John Does" in advance of that month's Ozzfest in Devore, California. ("John Doe" is a term used in lawsuits for individuals whose actual names are not yet known.) Live Nation was attempting to get a court order that would have federal and local law enforcement authorities seize and impound trademark-infringing gear at Ozzy Osbourne's traveling festival. AC/DC also filed a similar suit ahead of its 2016 U.S. tour.

https://blabbermouth.net/news/guns-n-roses-lawsuit-seeks-to-stop-counterfeit-merchandise

Forbes, August 14, 2021:

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Guns N’ Roses File Lawsuit To Thwart Sales Of Bootleg Concert Shirts

By Bryan Rolli

Guns N’ Roses recently kicked off their massive “We’re F’N’ Back!” North American tour, and they’re aiming to reap as many spoils from it as possible, in part by filing lawsuits that prevent vendors from selling bootleg T-shirts that will eat into the band’s merchandise profits, Bloomberg reports.

Bootleggers are a common sight outside large-scale concerts, often prowling venue parking lots and selling facsimiles of official concert shirts for a fraction of the price. Global Merchandising Services Ltd., which retains exclusive rights to sell Guns N’ Roses’ merchandise at U.S. concerts, has filed lawsuits in cities on the band’s itinerary to prevent these vendors from hawking their illicit wares.

“These bootleggers are, plainly and simply, parasites who wrongfully profit from the tremendous energies and reputations of performers,” Global Merchandising lawyer Kenneth Feinswog said in a New Jersey court filing from Aug. 2, three days before the band played at East Rutherford’s MetLife Stadium. The case lists singer Axl Rose (W. Axl Rose), guitarist Slash (Saul Hudson) and bassist Duff McKagan (Michael McKagan) as plaintiffs along with Global Merchandising. Rose, Slash and McKagan formed three-fifths of the classic Guns N’ Roses lineup and own the band trademark.

Feinswog added that “during the past 35 years of tremendous commercial growth of popular music,” music fans have “sought to identify themselves with and declare allegiance to their favorite performers by purchasing various articles of merchandise, t-shirts, patches, posters, photographs, jerseys, caps, belt buckles, jackets and other items that embody the names, photos, likenesses, logos, trademarks and/or artwork of such performers.” This declaration of allegiance “is the reason why fans will pay more than $35.00 for a t-shirt displaying the performer's name or likeness which t-shirt might otherwise retail (without such name or likeness) for $4.00.”

Feinswog also said bootleggers “misappropriate the names, likenesses, logos, symbols, artwork and/or trademarks of performing artists and musical groups” and claimed, "To add insult to injury, the merchandise that the bootleggers manufacture and sell is, in most instances, of inferior quality and not only violates Plaintiffs' rights but adversely affects the general public and irreparably injures the performers' reputations for excellence and integrity in the pursuit of their professional careers.”

Official concert merchandise is an enormously profitable venture for a band of Guns N’ Roses’ stature. Court filings show that the band has generated more than $15 million in merchandise. Apparel on the band’s official webstore ranges from $15 face masks to $500 leather jackets, while concert merchandise includes posters, hats, city-exclusive tee shirts and more.

Still, the band’s strategy to target street-level bootleggers on its current tour is unorthodox. Jayne Durden, vice president of law firm strategy at Boston-based intellectual property management firm Anaqua, said it’s more common for artists to go after the distributors of these unofficial products. “This is Whac-A-Mole, but with a massive paddle that makes some noise,” she told Bloomberg.

Rather than pursue the bootleggers for money, Guns N’ Roses received court orders in Boston and New Jersey that allowed police and federal marshals to seize bootleg merchandise within a certain vicinity of the venues in the six hours leading up to the shows and three hours preceding them.

So far, the orders appear to be successful: Security seized 417 bootleg shirts outside the band’s East Rutherford concert and 240 outside its Detroit show a few days later, court documents show. Rose, Slash, McKagan and Global Merchandising have also reportedly asked a federal judge in New Jersey for a blanket seizure order that would apply to the rest of their tour dates, which include arenas and stadiums in the U.S. and Mexico.

This type of lawsuit is not unique to Guns N’ Roses. In 2018, Global Merchandising filed a similar lawsuit on behalf of the metal band Slayer at the beginning of their farewell tour. Live Nation sought a similar court order for Ozzy Osbourne’s Ozzfest in 2010, as did AC/DC on their 2016 tour.

Guns N’ Roses’ current North American tour will run through mid-October and is expected to draw an estimated 400,000 fans. They’ll travel to Australia and New Zealand in November and will traverse Europe in 2022. With a new single, “Absurd,” out now and their classic hits streaming in the billions, it would not appear that any member of Guns N’ Roses is strapped for cash, bootleggers be damned.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/bryanrolli/2021/08/14/guns-n-roses-file-lawsuit-to-thwart-sales-of-bootleg-concert-shirts/

The lawsuit in New Jersey, accompanied with a motion for a temporary restraining order and order of seizure of bootleg merchandise was filed on August 2, 2021. The motion was granted by the court on Aug. 12, 2021. The lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice (meaning it could be filed again) on April 19, 2022.

The similar lawsuit in Boston was filed on July 27, 2021 and the motion for seizure of bootleg merchandise was granted by the court on August 2. The lawsuit was dismissed with prejudice (meaning it cannot be filed again) on December 13, 2021.