Bruce Springsteen is the latest artist seeking a court order to stop the sale of bootleg merch alongside his US shows. He wants the courts in New Jersey to instruct law enforcement to “seize and impound any and all infringing merchandise” that is being sold “in the vicinity” of his show at the Prudential Center in Newark later this month.
A legal filing made by Springsteen’s merch partner, Live Nation’s Merch Traffic, suggests that the court should instruct the local “United States Marshal” and “local and state police” to instigate a crackdown on the rogue merch sellers.
Though, given US Marshals ultimately report into President Donald Trump, who recently ramped up his public feud with “bad and very boring singer” Bruce Springsteen, who “looks like a dried up prune”, it might be optimistic to assume the US Marshals Service will invest too much time in seizing knock off Springsteen t-shirts. However, local police in the musician’s home state might be more willing to oblige.
Dua Lipa, Benson Boone and Tate McRae are among the other artists to have requested similar injunctions in the last year to stop the sale of unofficial merch alongside their shows. Legal action of this kind demonstrates how important official merch sales are to many artists and their business partners.
As is often the case, Merch Traffic’s legal filing on behalf of Springsteen doesn’t identify or name specific merch bootleggers, but targets anyone planning on selling “t-shirts, jerseys, caps and/or other merchandise” that make use of Bruce Springsteen or E Street Band trademarks without permission in the vicinity of the Prudential Center on 20 Apr.
That unofficial trademark infringing merch is “of the same general appearance” as Springsteen’s authorised tour merchandise, Merch Traffic’s legal filing adds, but is “not authorised” by the musician and, it’s keen to add, “is generally of inferior quality”.
To ensure fans aren’t confused into buying the unofficial products, Merch Traffic wants an injunction prohibiting the unnamed bootleggers from flogging their unapproved products, in addition to the order instructing law enforcement to take action on the night.