Martin Shkreli. Photo courtesy of NBC News.
Summary: A New York artist is suing hated “Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli because of copyright infringement.
“Pharma Bro” Martin Shkreli has another lawsuit to deal with, according to Reuters. This time the lawsuit is from a New York artist, Jason Koza. Koza claims that the sole copy of the Wu-Tang Clan album Shkreli famously purchased used his art without permission.
Koza filed a lawsuit on Tuesday in Manhattan. He claimed that Wu-Tang took his fan art and used it in the packaging for “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.” The album’s sole copy was purchased by Shkreli for $2 million, and Shkreli bragged he would keep it away from people, just because he could.
But that wasn’t the only jerk thing Shkreli did. He caught media attention last September when his pharmaceutical company raised the price of an AIDS-treatment drug by almost 5,000 percent. In December, he was arrested for fraud in regards to a Ponzi scheme he ran when he was younger.
Koza said that he thought his work would only appear on the website WuDisciples.blogspot.com, but he said Wu-Tang member Robert “RZA” Diggs took his work and used it on “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin” without his permission.
Koza claimed Shkreli allowed Vice.com to publish his infringed art to accompany a January 29 article. In Koza’s complaint, it said that Koza was happy with his work appearing on WuDisciples, but he did not want it to appear elsewhere.
Wu-Tang producer Tarik Azzourgarh and Paddle8, who auctioned the album, are also being sued. Koza is seeking unspecified damages and profits.
Shkreli is represented by lawyer Benjamin Brafman who did not immediately comment to Reuters. Koza’s lawyer Peter Scoolidge said that Shkreli did not need to know the artwork was stolen in order to be liable.
“There is no intent requirement for copyright infringement,” Scoolidge said.
In addition to this lawsuit and other troubles, Shrekli is also engaged in a public feud with Wu-Tang Clan member Ghostface Killah. Today, Ghostface released an 11-minute video response that blasted Shkreli who had asked him to apologize in his own profane video.
Shkreli responded through Twitter that his apology was “unacceptable.”
Source: Reuters