PleasrDAO, a decentralized autonomous organization that acquires digital and unique art on behalf of its members, has filed a preliminary injunction seeking to prevent Martin Shkreli from sharing or disseminating the one-of-a-kind musical album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin by Wu-Tang Clan.
Legal counsel for the DAO argued that Shkreli demonstrated “irreparable harm” — a legal term for damage that cannot be remedied through monetary means— by copying the album and streaming it during a X Spaces event on June 9, 2024. The motion for a preliminary injunction stated:
"The Album is a singular, unique work of art that was not to be broadcast, copied, or exploited, except by its owner, under very narrow circumstances. The value of the Album depends almost entirely on its uniqueness and the secrecy that surrounds it. Shkreli knows this."
The filing continued by explaining that Shkreli forfeited “all rights, title, and interest” to the Wu-Tang album when he was forced to surrender it to United States law enforcement officials in 2018 following his conviction for securities fraud.
PleasrDAO motion for preliminary injunction. Source: Reed Smith LLP
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PleasrDAO’s legal filing also cited the 88-year restrictions Shkreli agreed to with Wu-Tang Clan in the original 2015 purchase agreement, preventing him from disseminating the album except in narrow circumstances allowed under the “permitted use” clause.
The DAO’s argument hinges on showing that streaming the album in a social media forum constituted a breach of the original purchase agreement by playing the album at a large venue that is not an art museum, art gallery, or limited forms of private and public exhibitions.
PleasrDAO claims Shkreli was aware of the details in the original purchase agreement
Moreover, the court documents accused Shkreli of being fully aware of the terms and honoring them during a previous, similar situation. The documents quoted Shkreli's comments during a 2016 livestream:
“I actually have a contract with the Wu-Tang Clan where I’m not allowed to do this. Obviously, I own the music. And I bought it. And I paid a lot of money for it. And in many ways, the contract shouldn’t matter that much, but I’m also a man of my word. I got to keep my word to them [Wu-Tang Clan] too.”
According to the filing, Shkreli further demonstrated his awareness of his limitations in a May 2024 interview in which he acknowledged that he “wasn’t technically allowed to release the album,” in response to public criticism against him for not disseminating the contents of the art.
Shkreli's DJT token
Around the same time the PleasrDAO lawsuit was announced against Shkreli, the convicted felon captured crypto news headlines by claiming he had collaborated with Barron Trump, the son of former President Donald Trump, on a meme token.
Ultimately, Roger Stone and other sources close to the Trump family denied any involvement from the former first family. Shkreli was unable to provide any credible, immutable evidence linking the Trump family to the creation of the token or his claims that Barron Trump held the project’s private keys.
At the time of this writing, the price of the DJT memecoin has plummeted, sharply declining by 95% in a single day on Aug. 6.
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