Artist sues Martin Shkreli and Wu-Tang Clan for using his art on new album

By Charles Pulliam-Moore  |  February 9, 2016 | 6:38pm
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In addition to being a former CEO, a terrible investor, and the owner of the sole copy of the Wu-Tang Clan’s latest album, Martin Shkreli is something of a world-class troll. In stunning bit of karmic justice, Shkreli has been named as a defendant in a new lawsuit filed this morning by Jason Koza, a New York-based artist.

In his lawsuit, Koza explains that a number of his illustrations that were originally posted to a Wu-Tang fan site were reproduced and included in the packaging for Once Upon A Time In Shaolin. Koza claims that he received no compensation for his artwork and Wu-Tang never actually asked permission to use it.

“Mr. Koza was happy when his work appeared on the website,” his lawsuit states. “Mr. Koza never granted a license for his works to be copied or displayed anywhere (else).”

Now, Koza’s seeking an undisclosed amount in damages and has his sights set on Shkreli, along with the entire Wu-Tang Clan. Shkreli’s being sued for sharing three of Koza’s illustrations in an interview he gave to VICE earlier this year (pics linked there,) but Koza’s also going after Robert “RZA” Diggs and Tarik “Cilvaringz” Azzougarh for putting his work on the album in the first place.

According to Koza’s lawyer, Azzougarh acknowledged the copyright issue in an e-mail dated January 31 in which he asked Koza to discuss “the use of [his] drawings” via Skype.

 
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