- A U.S. District Judge allowed PleasrDAO to pursue trade secret claims against Martin Shkreli over alleged unauthorized copies of the rare Wu-Tang Clan album.
- The court dismissed other allegations, including unjust enrichment and interference, but said the album’s secrecy gives it special value under trade secret law.
- PleasrDAO alleges Shkreli kept and shared digital copies after being forced to forfeit the album in 2018 due to his conviction.
- Shkreli had argued Wu-Tang Clan members should be part of the suit, but the judge did not agree with dismissing the case on that basis.
- The ruling is one of the first to recognize a unique music album as a protected trade secret, not just an intellectual property asset.
A federal judge has ruled that Martin Shkreli can face a lawsuit over allegedly copying and sharing the Wu-Tang Clan’s one-of-a-kind album, “Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.” The decision, issued Thursday in the Eastern District of New York, lets digital collective PleasrDAO move ahead with claims that focus on the confidential value of the album.
In the judge’s 32-page decision, claims for trade secret theft and property recovery were allowed to proceed, while other allegations like unjust enrichment were dismissed for legal reasons. PleasrDAO accuses Shkreli of keeping digital files of the exclusive album after he forfeited it in 2018 to help cover a $7.4 million penalty related to securities fraud. The group also claims he played tracks in livestreams and offered to share the music online.
A federal court imposed a temporary restraining order in June last year, forbidding Shkreli from streaming, sharing, or otherwise using the album. Judge Pamela Chen found that Shkreli had “unlawfully retained and distributed copies” and ruled that PleasrDAO may now seek damages, profits, or any remaining copies still in Shkreli’s possession.
Legal expert Ishita Sharma told Decrypt the decision makes history by treating the unreleased album as a possible trade secret, a status usually reserved for company secrets or formulas. Sharma explained, “the court treated an unreleased hip-hop album as a potential trade secret—something usually reserved for recipes or corporate know-how.”
The Wu-Tang Clan album was recorded between 2007 and 2013 as a protest against the devaluation of music. Only one physical copy was produced, accompanied by a detailed manuscript. The original agreement from 2015 gave Shkreli some copyright rights but set strict use limits for 88 years.
After Shkreli’s fraud conviction, the U.S. Marshals Service sold the album for over $2 million in July 2021. PleasrDAO purchased the album and its rights, then acquired the copyrights for about $750,000 in January 2024.
In June 2024, PleasrDAO filed suit after Shkreli claimed in livestreams he had digital files and mocked the group publicly. Shkreli sought dismissal, arguing Wu-Tang members should be included due to their interests, but the court allowed the trade secret case to proceed.
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