Law Enforcement is Now Seizing Counterfeit Slayer Merchandise in Accordance with Court Order
Hoping to snag a counterfeit Slayer t-shirt for $20 ($15 if you’re a shrewd negotiator… or even $10!) in the parking lot on your way home from one of Slayer’s farewell shows? Not so fast: law enforcement is stepping up to combat the problem.
News surfaced yesterday that Global Merchandising Services, the company that controls the exclusive merch rights for Slayer (as well as Elton John, Ozzy Osbourne, Alice Cooper, A Perfect Circle, Motorhead, Iron Maiden, Rob Zombie and the entire WWE, among many more), had filed a lawsuit to attempt to put a stop to the sales of counterfeit Slayer merch at the band’s farewell shows. The complaint alleged that counterfeit merchandise has cost the band $25 million to date.
MetalSucks has now learned that not only was Global Merchandising Services’ request granted, resulting in a court order for local law enforcement at each show to address the issue on the ground, but those efforts are already underway and have been met with some success. Pardon our potential misuse of legal jargon in that last sentence, but the upshot is this: police are now actively confronting the problem at Slayer’s show because the court said they’re required to.
A representative from Global Merchandising Services has told MetalSucks that the court order was put into effect “immediate[ly] upon providing evidence of bootleg infringement,” and its jurisdiction covers the entire United States. Further, counterfeit goods were seized at the May 10th tour kickoff in San Diego, and GMS / law enforcement “will continue to enforce the order at all performances.”
The representative declined to comment on any specific monetary values or quantities of goods seized, and did not specify whether any arrests were made.
It’s unlikely that any kind of law enforcement would ever be able to stomp out all counterfeiting, but sorry, bud: it definitely looks like it’ll be at least a little bit harder to get a janky, thread-bare, poorly printed Slayer shirt this time around. Better luck on the next Iron Maiden tour, perhaps.
