A federal judge in Brooklyn has temporarily ordered infamous “pharma bro” PleasrDAO and Shkreli are set to meet in court later this month to debate the lawsuit, which alleges that by retaining copies of the album he previously owned and playing it for online audiences, Shkreli has violated a federal court ruling. Until that hearing, Shkreli is barred from “using, disseminating, streaming, or selling any interests in the album, including its data and files,” according to a ruling Tuesday evening by U.S. District Judge Pamela Chen. The storied saga of the Wu-Tang Clan’s unique, secretly recorded “Shaolin” album began in 2015, when Shkreli—then a controversial pharmaceutical executive—bought the sole existing copy of the record for a reported $2 million. The album came with the condition that it could not be commercially exploited until 2103.Okay we unblocked you. Also you’ve been served ♀️ https://t.co/6UxhZckJPs pic.twitter.com/z8PVAsvNMO— ✨ Pleasr (@PleasrDAO) June 11, 2024After Shkreli was then tried and convicted for securities fraud in 2018, the Department of Justice seized the album, and later Since then, Shkreli has repeatedly claimed online that he retained copies of the album, and has played it for audiences—actions, PleasrDAO says, violate the forfeiture order Shkreli signed at the conclusion of his criminal trial. “Martin has been disrespecting this work of art for years,” Leighton Cusack, one of the founders of PleasrDAO, told On Twitter, Shkreli lambasted the lawsuit, arguing he never explicitly agreed to surrender his rights to play or share the album. I’m sorry what rights are those? When did I agree on what explicitly was sold? Is there a sale agreement with my lawyer or my name on it? Jamis admitted to me the GC of pleasr was a complete idiot— Martin Shkreli (e/acc) (@MartinShkreli) June 11, 2024He also emphasized that PleasrDAO, a When asked by On Tuesday afternoon, shortly before Judge Chen issued a temporary restraining order against Shkreli, PleasrDAO tweeted that their ultimate goal is to disseminate the “Shaolin” album publicly. “Our master plan is to release the music to the public in a way that honors the Wu-Tang Clan and gets them paid while circumventing the streaming oligopoly; every action we are taking is in service of that mission.— ✨ Pleasr (@PleasrDAO) June 11, 2024The collective has not yet, however, laid out how it plans to do so.Edited by Andrew Hayward
