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Kanye West sues Walmart over sale of knock-off Yeezy-esque shoes
By Chris Cooke | Published on Monday 28 June 2021
Kanye West has sued American supermarket giant Walmart over the sale of shoes which, the rapper claims, are straight rip offs of the somewhat distinctive Yeezy Foam Runners that he launched last year via his partnership with Adidas.
“Consumers are purchasing the imitation Yeezy Foam Runner footwear from Walmart on the mistaken belief that the shoes are associated with West and the Yeezy brand”, a lawsuit filed in the LA courts last week stated. By selling the knock off shoes, it then claimed, the retailer had violated California’s Unfair Competition Law.
However, Walmart has since distanced itself from the rip off footwear which, it says, was being sold on its online marketplace by a third party seller, not the supermarket firm itself.
A spokesperson told TMZ: “The product referenced in the complaint is not sold by Walmart, but rather by third party marketplace sellers. We take allegations like this seriously and are reviewing the claim. We will respond in court as appropriate after we have been served with the complaint”.
That explanation from Walmart would add another layer of debate if this case proceeds to court. Aside from deciding whether or not the knock off shoes violate Californian law, the court would also need to consider whether Walmart itself should be liable for allowing the knock offs to be sold on its website. Online marketplaces have been able to circumvent such liability in the past, though whether that should be possible remains a big talking point.
It’s the second legal bust up between West and Walmart this year. A couple of months back the supermarket reportedly objected to the rapper’s attempts to trademark a new Yeezy logo which, it claimed, was too close to its logo.
