A federal court battle has erupted between boxing legend Mike Tyson and an Australian-owned streetwear brand, with the retailer at the centre of the ring claiming he wasn’t told he was being sued.
Tyson, acknowledged as one of the greatest heavyweight fighters of all time, filed a lawsuit against Culture Kings last Friday, allegedly the retailer sold T-shirts emblazoned with his face and nicknames without permission.
The retailer continued to sell the shirts despite being sent multiple cease and desist emails and a letter, NSW Federal Court documents allege.
“It’s just a confusion … I’m sure we’ll solve it,” Mr Beard told TND on Tuesday.
The startup entrepreneur, who co-founded Culture Kings in 2008, said he first learned of the case when TND emailed him on Tuesday morning.
Tyson, meanwhile, is demanding to be paid all profits Culture Kings made from clothes bearing his name and likeness, claiming the retailer misled customers into believing he was affiliated with or sponsored by them.
“References to the applicant [Tyson] … would cause a consumer to associate a product bearing those references, images and words with the applicant, and with the applicant’s international fame, reputation and recognition,” Tyson’s lawyers claimed.
Tyson, who is described as a person of “widespread international fame” by his lawyer, says offending products are branded with terms like “Mike Tyson”, “Iron Mike” and “Kid Dynamite” without his approval.
But Culture Kings CEO Simon Beard told The New Daily the entire case is merely a “miscommunication” and that he never received any correspondence from Tyson’s lawyers.
