Slipknot Drops Lawsuit Against Fake Website Selling Bootleg Merch, May Reopen Suit
In a surprising turn of events, heavy metal band Slipknot has dismissed its lawsuit against the owner of Slipknot.com, a website that allegedly sells bootleg merchandise bearing the band's name. The move comes just weeks after the owner, who remains anonymous, claimed to be unaware of the suit.
The band had filed the lawsuit in October, alleging that Slipknot.com was selling unauthorized merchandise, including cheap promo products and costume masks, which was "cheating fans." By filing for "in rem," a type of lawsuit that targets the domain name itself rather than its owner, Slipknot aimed to stop the website from profiting from its intellectual property.
However, in November, lawyer Jeffrey Neuman filed a motion on behalf of the domain owner, Slipknot Online Services, Ltd., claiming that the company had been unaware of the suit. The domain was registered in 2001 and has remained under the same ownership for over two decades.
After a back-and-forth exchange between the parties, Slipknot's lawyers filed their own motion to dismiss on Wednesday, citing a failure to meet the statute of limitations and a lack of evidence that the website was indeed selling bootleg merchandise. The band's decision to drop the lawsuit means it can revive the suit in the future.
As for the current status of Slipknot.com, the website remains active but with no content. A message on the site reads "No valid delivery channels available for this domain," and it is marked as copyrighted 2025. In contrast, Slipknot's official website, Slipknot1.com, continues to operate without any issues.
Reps for Slipknot declined to comment on the news, while lawyers for Slipknot Online Services did not immediately respond to requests for information. The move marks a surprising end to the dispute, which had raised questions about the ease of profiting from band names and intellectual property in the online realm.
In a surprising turn of events, heavy metal band Slipknot has dismissed its lawsuit against the owner of Slipknot.com, a website that allegedly sells bootleg merchandise bearing the band's name. The move comes just weeks after the owner, who remains anonymous, claimed to be unaware of the suit.
The band had filed the lawsuit in October, alleging that Slipknot.com was selling unauthorized merchandise, including cheap promo products and costume masks, which was "cheating fans." By filing for "in rem," a type of lawsuit that targets the domain name itself rather than its owner, Slipknot aimed to stop the website from profiting from its intellectual property.
However, in November, lawyer Jeffrey Neuman filed a motion on behalf of the domain owner, Slipknot Online Services, Ltd., claiming that the company had been unaware of the suit. The domain was registered in 2001 and has remained under the same ownership for over two decades.
After a back-and-forth exchange between the parties, Slipknot's lawyers filed their own motion to dismiss on Wednesday, citing a failure to meet the statute of limitations and a lack of evidence that the website was indeed selling bootleg merchandise. The band's decision to drop the lawsuit means it can revive the suit in the future.
As for the current status of Slipknot.com, the website remains active but with no content. A message on the site reads "No valid delivery channels available for this domain," and it is marked as copyrighted 2025. In contrast, Slipknot's official website, Slipknot1.com, continues to operate without any issues.
Reps for Slipknot declined to comment on the news, while lawyers for Slipknot Online Services did not immediately respond to requests for information. The move marks a surprising end to the dispute, which had raised questions about the ease of profiting from band names and intellectual property in the online realm.