Run-DMC Sues Amazon, Wal-Mart, and Jet for $50 Million

Run DMC. Photo courtesy of The Hollywood Reporter.

Summary: Run-DMC is suing retailers for selling unauthorized Run-DMC merchandise.

Run-DMC’s acting like Wal-Mart and Amazon are Sucker MCs. The famous 1980s rap group filed a lawsuit against Wal-Mart, Amazon, Jet, and other retailers for $50 million. According to E! Online, Run-DMC believes that those companies have been capitalizing off of their name without permission.

Needless to say, it’s tricky what’s going on.

Run-DMC said that those stores are selling merchandise such as hats, glasses, patches, and more that use their trademarked name without their authority. They said that this confuses the public into thinking they are involved with the product sales, and that this dilutes their $100 million brand.

In addition to suing the retailers, Run-DMC named 20 “John Doe” merchandisers as defendants. They did not list specific products because they claim there was too many things to name on the market.

Amazon and Jet have yet to comment on the litigation.

Run-DMC is a rap group formed in 1981 by Joseph “Run” Simmons, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. They were famous for hits such as “It’s Tricky,” “My Adidas,” and “Run’s House.” According to their lawsuit, the group signed a $1.6 million deal with Adidas recently, proving that their name is still of high value even though it disbanded after Mizell was murdered in 2002.