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Darryl McDaniels, the owner of Run-DMC Brand LLC, the plaintiff
in the lawsuit, is seeking at least $50 million of damages from
the retailers and other defendants over their alleged sale of
glasses, hats, patches, T-shirts, wallets and other products
that infringe the Run-DMC trademark registered in 2007.
McDaniels called the Run-DMC brand "extremely valuable," and
said it is the subject of several licensing agreements,
including to endorse sneakers from Adidas AG.
He said the defendants are confusing consumers into believing
that Run-DMC endorsed their products and are trading on the
goodwill associated with the name, in violation of federal
trademark and New York unfair competition laws.
"Plaintiff will suffer immediate and irreparable injury, loss,
or damage" unless the infringements are stopped, according to
the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan.
Other defendants include Jet.com, an online retailer that
Wal-Mart bought, and a variety of companies that do business
with Amazon or sell products through Amazon.
Amazon, Wal-Mart and Jet.com did not immediately respond to
requests for comment. McDaniels' lawyer did not immediately
respond to similar requests.
Run-DMC was founded in the New York City borough of Queens in
1981 by McDaniels, Joseph "Run" Simmons and Jason "Jam Master
Jay" Mizell. It became one of the best-known rap acts of the
1980s, including for the album "Raising Hell" and such songs as
the Aerosmith cover "Walk This Way" and "My Adidas."
In 2009, Run-DMC became the second rap act inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The case is Run-DMC Brand LLC v Amazon.com Inc et al, U.S.
District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 16-10011.
(This version of the story was refiled to correct paragraph six
to show Wal-Mart has already bought Jet.com)
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Leslie
Adler)
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