PleasrDAO’s Case v. Shkreli Over Wu-Tang Album Moves Forward

Photo Credit: Martin Shkreli for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (Public Domain)

A federal judge rules that Pleasr’s case against Martin Shkreli over the unique Wu-Tang Clan album he copied can proceed.

A federal judge in the Eastern District of New York has ruled that Pleasr’s claims against Martin Shkreli over the unique Wu-Tang Clan album, Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, can move forward.

The ruling recognizes that the album, of which only one copy was originally made, may qualify as a protectable trade secret and that Pleasr may recover copies Shkreli allegedly kept. This decision marks a novel ruling that recognizes a musical work as a trade secret under the federal Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016.

Reed Smith filed the action on behalf of Pleasr, a decentralized group that buys items its members view as culturally significant materials, in June 2024. The PleasrDAO collective paid around $4 million for the album in 2021, but sued Shkreli after he allegedly admitted in livestreams to copying the album and playing it for his followers.

The filing came after American investor Shkreli secretly retained copies of the album, which he paid $2 million for in 2015. Shkreli was required to give it up to partially satisfy a $7.4 million forfeiture order related to his 2017 fraud conviction.

When a PleasrDAO member posted a photo of the album on the former Twitter, Shkreli responded, “LOL i have the mp3s you moron.”

In the September 25 order, U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen denied Shkreli’s bid to dismiss the case, sustaining Pleasr’s two trade secret claims and a claim for replevin. Ultimately, the court accepted Pleasr’s allegations that the album’s secrecy and exclusivity are core to its value and noted that Wu-Tang deliberately produced only one copy while imposing stringent use restrictions.

Notably, the court stated that although the album does not fit squarely within a category of business information traditionally protected as trade secrets, “all forms and types of business information” can constitute trade secrets. The ruling emphasizes that the album’s “independent economic value” plausibly derives from its uniqueness.

Further, the order held that Pleasr can pursue action to obtain Shkreli’s retained copies, given Pleasr’s superior possessory rights in the sole physical and digital embodiment of the work.

The court also indicated it will consider whether certain members of the Wu-Tang Clan should be added to the lawsuit. The case will proceed on Pleasr’s trade secret and replevin claims, enabling Pleasr to seek discovery, injunctive relief, and the return of any copies still held by Shkreli.