Woof-Tang Clan Runs Into Predictable Legal Trouble

Attention, all dog walkers: The Wu-Tang [trademark] ain't nothing to f*** with. The Guardian reports the RZA filed a lawsuit last Friday against the Woof-Tang Clan, a dog-walking company in Brooklyn. In his lawsuit, the Wu-Tang rapper and producer accuses the Woof-Tang Clan of violating his group's trademarks. According to Rolling Stone, the lawsuit states the Wu-Tang Clan trademark "has come to represent enormous goodwill" and is "unmistakably associated with [RZA] such that it constitutes part of his identity." It goes on to state the Woof-Tang Clan "falsely suggests a connection" to the Wu-Tang Clan and argues its name is "likely to cause confusion, cause mistake, or to deceive consumers to falsely believe" the two are associated.

The Woof-Tang Clan filed its own trademark application in June, the New York Daily News reports. “I am a fan,” owner Marty Cuatchon says. “We walk dogs. I thought it was a good idea.” The Woof-Tang website boasts its dog-walkers are "courteous and responsible, as long as we’re in agreement that Nas’ Illmatic is the greatest album of all time." The Woof-Tang Clan was also selling T-shirts featuring dog versions of famous hip-hop album covers, though the shirts have now been removed from its website. Cuatchon isn't commenting on the RZA's lawsuit. (More Wu-Tang Clan stories.)