As reported by the New York Daily News (via Rolling Stone), RZA from the Wu-Tang Clan has filed a trademark opposition suit against a Brooklyn-based dog-walking service that tried to register the trademark “Woof-Tang Clan.” The dog company is owned by a guy named Marty Cuatchon, and just in case there was any doubt that Woof-Tang Clan’s similarity to Wu-Tang Clan was purposeful, he also used to sell a t-shirt featuring a recreation of the cover art for Ol’ Dirty Bastard’s Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version with ODB’s face replaced with a dog. (The site was also selling a dog-themed parody of De La Soul’s 3 Feet High And Rising, which isn’t actually Wu-Tang related, so that’s confusing.)
In his suit, RZA said that the Wu-Tang Clan name has “come to represent enormous goodwill” over the group’s long history, and it’s “unmistakably associated” with RZA to the extent that it “constitutes part of his identity.” The dog company, he says, is infringing on that due to its “highly similar” nature that “falsely suggests a connection” between the two organizations. Speaking with the Daily News, Cuatchon said that he was actually unaware of the trademark challenge and didn’t want to say too much without talking to a lawyer. He did, however, admit to being a Wu-Tang fan and said that he “thought it was a good idea.”