The Boss vs. Bootleggers: Bruce Springsteen's Team Fights Counterfeit Merch
Merch Traffic, a Live Nation subsidiary, is seeking a legal injunction to combat the sale of counterfeit merchandise during Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band's 'Land of Hopes and Dreams' tour, starting with their show at Newark's **Prud...
Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band's official merchandise supplier is taking legal action to prevent the sale of counterfeit goods during their Land of Hopes and Dreams American Tour, beginning with Springsteen's highly anticipated homecoming show in New Jersey.
Merch Traffic, a Live Nation subsidiary, initiated trademark infringement claims on Thursday, April 9th, against numerous anonymous bootleggers who have been targeting the Land of Hopes and Dreams tour. This type of legal maneuver is a standard practice for authorized merchandise vendors, allowing them to work with law enforcement to stop the sale of counterfeit goods outside venues by providing judicial orders for merchandise seizure and sales cessation.
The lawsuit, obtained by Billboard, alleges that these counterfeiters have been selling poor-quality, cheap imitations of official Springsteen t-shirts and hats outside of arenas since the tour's opening night in Minneapolis on March 31st. Merch Traffic is now pursuing an injunction in New Jersey federal court in anticipation of the Garden State native's April 20th performance at Newark's Prudential Center.
Merch Traffic aims for this injunction to extend beyond the New Jersey show, seeking to seize infringing merchandise throughout the remainder of Springsteen's nationwide tour in May.
According to the lawsuit, "Without the proposed seizure order, plaintiff will be forced to file separate civil actions throughout the United States at an estimated expense of well over $375,000 in legal fees and costs, imposing a great burden upon both plaintiff and the judicial resources of the federal courts."
As of Friday, April 10th, a representative for Springsteen had not yet responded to requests for comment.
Merch Traffic and similar companies often resort to these legal actions to combat counterfeiters who target parking lots during major artist tours. Injunctions were previously implemented for Springsteen's 2016 and 2023 tours. Similar lawsuits have been pursued in the past year by authorized merchandise sellers for artists like Tate McRae, Dua Lipa, and Benson Boone.
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