Nipsey Hussle was a huge contributor to the world of urban fashion and had a number of fashion brands under his umbrella of business ventures. The rapper and entrepreneur saw great success in both industries, and his family wants that to remain as the status quo. After his tragic murder in 2019, he left a legacy behind, and that is something that his estate holds near and dear. Determined to preserve what Nipsey had created, those responsible for his estate are launching a lawsuit against anyone and everyone that is responsible for counterfeit merchandise bearing the name of his brand, and they'll stop at nothing to ensure this behavior is discontinued. In fact, TMZ reports that many of the counterfeit products are linked to companies in China, and they're now being slapped with huge fines and aggressive litigation.
Nipsey Hussle, and now subsequently, his estate, own the rights to Marathon Clothing, inclusive of their affiliate relationship with Puma, along with other brands and labels. Since his death, many companies have created counterfeit merchandise bearing Nipsey's name, likeness, and brand name, all in an effort to monopolize on profits.
Wrongly using his brand and image for their own gain, and without the proper license to reproduce these products, these bootleg shops are now under fire, as Nipsey's estate takes aggressive legal action to secure his legacy.
TMZ reports that, "The late rapper's brother and estate administrator, Samiel Asghedom, just filed suit against several entities that the estate believes are behind a bunch of e-commerce websites selling knockoff Marathon-related clothing," and they went on to say that the estate has the rights to a number of the registered trademarks, "including a Crenshaw logo for clothing, another clothing line called South Central State of Mind" and many others.
Asghedom indicates that these websites and online outlets did not obtain consent or license to duplicate these items, thus igniting a legal battle to rectify this issue. He has traced back some illegal activity in the state of Illinois and is continuing his hunt for anyone that tries to exploit Nipsey in this manner.
If proven to be guilty, these organizations will be hit hard, as Nipsey's estate is seeking rights to all their domain registrations and rights to all their profits resulting from merchandise sales and the use of the trademarks in all capacities. Proving that they really mean business, their legal documents indicate they are seeking compensation to the tune of $2 million per illegal infraction.