Overview
- U.S. District Judge Pamela K. Chen ruled that PleasrDAO can pursue claims that Martin Shkreli misappropriated trade secrets tied to Wu‑Tang Clan’s Once Upon a Time in Shaolin.
- The court allowed trade‑secret and property‑return theories to proceed while dismissing several other counts, including claims preempted by copyright and a forfeiture‑enforcement theory.
- Chen found PleasrDAO plausibly took reasonable steps to preserve secrecy, citing armed security and constant video surveillance, and wrote that the album’s value rests on exclusivity.
- PleasrDAO alleges Shkreli copied the album and played it online; in court filings, Shkreli acknowledged sharing the music years ago and suggested others may have recorded it.
- The collective, which bought the album for about $4 million in 2021 and later acquired related copyrights, seeks damages and the return of any remaining copies in the Eastern District of New York case.