Twenty One Pilots Sues Temu Over Knockoff Merchandise: ‘Blatant Copies’

Twenty One Pilots is suing the Chinese e-commerce elephantine Temu implicit allegations that the “unethical” institution is flooding the marketplace with inexpensive knockoffs of the band’s merchandise.

The “Stressed Out” duo, acceptable to merchandise its eighth workplace medium aboriginal this week, says the tract is simply a “veritable swamp of infringing and different amerciable products,” including galore that are “blatant copies” of its merch.

“Temu is wide understood to beryllium 1 of the astir unethical companies operating successful today’s planetary marketplace,” the band’s lawyers wrote successful a ailment obtained by Billboard. “Instead of policing its products to defender against infringement, it chooses to nett from income of specified products, successful disregard of creator and marque rights.”

Temu, which means “Team Up, Price Down,” is an online marketplace that boomed successful 2024 by selling low-priced goods straight to American consumers. But Twenty One Pilots (composed of vocalist Tyler Joseph and drummer Josh Dun) says galore of those goods are fakes that interruption U.S. intelligence property.

The suit includes dozens of photos of t-shirts, mugs, posters and different allegedly counterfeit products. In one, an nonstop replica of a $35 t-shirt that features the 2 stars lasting backmost to back, is shown connected Temu astatine the terms of conscionable $7.54.

“Temu’s signifier of flouting the instrumentality and attempting to exploit the hard enactment and creativity of others without consent is manifest successful the claims astatine contented here,” the band’s lawyers wrote.

Artists are progressively utilizing ineligible measures to ace down connected counterfeit merch. Last month, Benson Boone and Tate McRae’s merchandise partners each filed separate lawsuits implicit fake cogwheel sold extracurricular their concerts. Before that, Nirvana, Harry Styles, Rod Wave and galore others had filed akin cases.

But specified cases tin beryllium tricky: In precocious 2023, Luke Combs accidentally sued a superfan who was selling decorative tumblers and rapidly won a $250,000 judgement against her. After the communicative went viral, helium apologized to her and forgave the immense debt.

Other artists person chosen to people large online platforms that allegedly facilitate specified sales. Monday’s lawsuit was filed by the aforesaid lawyers who filed a similar lawsuit against Temu past period connected behalf of the property of MF Doom, leveling galore of the aforesaid accusations. That suit remains pending.

Like that earlier case, Twenty One Pilots’ caller allegations scope good beyond intelligence spot by including claims that the institution sells the products of forced labor, has aided the Chine...