Martin Shkreli Seeks Dismissal Of NFT Lawsuit Over Wu-Tang Clan Album

According to Odaily, former pharmaceutical executive and investor Martin Shkreli has requested a Brooklyn federal court to dismiss a lawsuit filed by NFT platform PleasrDAO concerning the ownership of a Wu-Tang Clan album. Shkreli argues that the lawsuit is "preempted by copyright law." He also seeks the involvement of Wu-Tang Clan members Robert Diggs (RZA) and Tarik Azzougarh (Cilvaringz) in the proceedings, as they co-own the album. Shkreli originally purchased the album for $2 million at a private auction in 2015. Under the terms of the contract, the album is not to be publicly released until 2103, with only one copy produced. However, after Shkreli was arrested in 2018 for allegedly defrauding investors and engaging in a stock fraud scheme involving his company Retrophin Inc., authorities seized the album. He was convicted and sentenced to seven years in prison, fined $75,000, and ordered to forfeit $7.3 million. PleasrDAO has owned the physical album since 2021, having purchased it from the Department of Justice for $4.75 million after it was confiscated from Shkreli following his securities fraud conviction. The DAO sold fractional ownership through NFTs but claims Shkreli retained a digital copy of the album, leading to a lawsuit filed last June. On August 26, a New York federal judge ordered Shkreli to hand over any copies of the album to his attorney and sign a declaration stating he no longer possesses any copies by August 30. Additionally, Shkreli must submit a list by September 30 detailing any copies of the album, including information on individuals with whom he shared the album and any financial benefits he received from its distribution or performance.