{"id":654453,"date":"2026-06-23T18:33:09","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T18:33:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/654453\/"},"modified":"2026-06-23T18:33:09","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T18:33:09","slug":"umgs-bravado-targets-aap-rocky-merch-bootleggers-on-dont-be-dumb-tour-with-trademark-suit-seizure-order","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/654453\/","title":{"rendered":"UMG\u2019s Bravado targets A$AP Rocky merch bootleggers on \u2018Don\u2019t Be Dumb\u2019 tour with trademark suit, seizure order"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bravado<\/a>, Universal Music Group\u2019s merchandise and brand management division<\/a>,\u00a0has won a court order authorizing the seizure of counterfeit merchandise from bootleggers at A$AP Rocky\u2018s concerts.<\/p>\n

US District Judge Sim Lake signed a temporary restraining order and seizure order on Wednesday (June 17) in the Southern District of Texas (Houston Division), covering concerts on the rapper\u2019s Don\u2019t Be Dumb World Tour.<\/p>\n

The order (which you can see here<\/a>) applied to A$AP Rocky\u2018s Toyota Center show in Houston on Saturday (June 20) and remains in effect pending a show-cause hearing on Wednesday (July 1), at which Bravado will seek a preliminary injunction covering the rest of the tour<\/p>\n

It followed a trademark infringement complaint <\/a>and ex parte application<\/a> that Bravado filed on Thursday (June 11).<\/p>\n

Bravado states in the complaint that it holds the exclusive right to use the A$AP Rocky trademarks on tour merchandise, pursuant to an agreement with the artist.<\/p>\n

The lawsuit names John Does 1-100, Jane Does 1-100, and XYZ Company as defendants, described as individuals and entities \u201cwho are sued herein under fictitious names because their true names and capacities are unknown at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The complaint states that it \u201cwill be amended when their true names and capacities are ascertained.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the filing, A$AP Rocky holds Federal Trademark Registration No. 7562837 for the A$AP Rocky mark, covering clothing, entertainment services, and musical sound recordings.<\/p>\n

The complaint alleges that the defendants \u201cwill sell and distribute unauthorized, infringing T-shirts, jerseys, caps and\/or other merchandise bearing any or all of the Artist\u2019s Trademarks\u201d in the vicinity of concerts on the tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Infringing Merchandise is of the same general appearance as Plaintiff\u2018s Authorized Tour Merchandise and is likely to cause confusion among prospective purchasers,\u201d the filing reads.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Infringing Merchandise sold by Defendants is generally of inferior quality.\u201d<\/p>\n

The complaint states that the sale of counterfeit goods is \u201clikely to cause the purchasing public to believe that the sale and distribution of such Infringing Merchandise is authorized, sponsored or approved by the Artist and\/or Plaintiff.\u201d<\/p>\n

It adds that such activity \u201calso injures the Artist and Plaintiff in that Defendants do not have to pay any royalty for these unlawful sales.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawsuit brings two causes of action: infringement of a registered trademark under 15 U.S.C. \u00a7 1114(b), and false designation of origin under Section 43(a) of the Lanham Act.<\/p>\n

Under the order, the defendants are temporarily restrained from making, distributing or selling merchandise bearing the A$AP Rocky trademarks.<\/p>\n

It authorizes the US Marshal, state and local police, and Bravado\u2019s agents to seize infringing goods \u201cfrom three (3) hours before to three (3) hours after any performance of the tour.\u201d<\/p>\n

The seizure power covers a three-mile vicinity of the venues and reaches any district in which Bravado enforces the order.<\/p>\n

It was conditioned on Bravado posting a $5,000 bond by Thursday (June 18), and on the company covering any fees charged by the law enforcement officers it uses.<\/p>\n

At the July 1 hearing, the defendants can show cause why a preliminary injunction should not be granted, with any responsive papers due on Thursday (June 25).<\/p>\n

Bravado had sought the relief in an ex parte application brought under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 65, the Lanham Act, and the All Writs Act.<\/p>\n

The application was supported by a declaration from Bravado\u2019s Ashley Fogerty and a certificate from its counsel.<\/p>\n

A supporting memorandum argued that \u201ceach sale of Infringing Merchandise by Defendants is an irrecoverably lost sale for Plaintiff.\u201d<\/p>\n

In its complaint, Bravado also seeks the destruction of all infringing merchandise and damages \u201cin an amount to be determined.\u201d<\/p>\n

The lawsuit is the latest in a growing wave of anti-counterfeiting litigation<\/a> across the music industry.<\/p>\n

In April, HYBE filed a comparable complaint<\/a> against unnamed bootleggers ahead of BTS\u2018s US tour dates, while Live Nation<\/a> subsidiary Merch Traffic filed a trademark infringement suit on behalf of Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band around the same time.<\/p>\n

Sony<\/a>\u2018s merch venture Ceremony of Roses has also recently obtained court orders targeting bootleggers at Benson Boone and Dua Lipa concerts.<\/p>\n

The surge in legal action reflects the growing financial importance of merchandise to the music business.<\/p>\n

UMG<\/a>\u2018s\u00a0Bravado<\/a>, the merch operation at the world\u2019s largest music company,\u00a0for example, generated $912 million in revenue in 2025 and is sure to have a billion dollars in annual turnover in its sights for 2026.<\/p>\n

As\u00a0MBW has previously reported<\/a>, the boom in live music has made ancillary income at concerts, particularly from apparel and consumer goods, an increasingly significant earnings stream for artists and their partners.<\/p>\n

A$AP Rocky\u2018s Don\u2019t Be Dumb World Tour kicked off on Wednesday May 27 at the United Center in Chicago.<\/p>\n

The 42-date arena tour, promoted by Live Nation, spans North America and Europe and supports the rapper\u2019s fourth studio album, Don\u2019t Be Dumb, which debuted at No.1 on the Billboard 200<\/a> in January with 123,000 equivalent album units in its first week.<\/p>\n

Bravado is represented in the case by Cara R. Burns of Mims, Kaplan, Burns & Garretson.Music Business Worldwide<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bravado, Universal Music Group\u2019s merchandise and brand management division,\u00a0has won a court order authorizing the seizure of counterfeit…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":654454,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[96,128,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-654453","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654453","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=654453"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/654453\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/654454"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=654453"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=654453"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=654453"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}