Lawsuit: Police Will Take Bootlegged Merchandise At New Kids On The Block Concert
DENVER (CBS4) — New Kids on the Block fans might consider buying black market band merchandise to save cash, but there will be extra enforcement outside the Pepsi Center to prevent them.
Live Nation Merchandise filed a civil lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Denver against anyone selling black market New Kids on the Block merchandise before and after the concert Friday.
Merchandise includes products from t-shirts, tour books and posters -- anything with the trademark or logo for New Kids on the Block ("NKOTB").
According to the lawsuit filed by attorney Cara Burns, the knock-off items are often of lesser quality than the authentic merchandise. The lawsuit says this hurts the band's and Live Nation Merchandise's reputation.
The lawsuit asks the court to order the U.S. Marshal and local police to confiscate all bootlegged NKOTB merchandise sold near the Pepsi Center before and after the concert Friday.
"People come to concerts and buy stuff outside, but usually we go after someone selling the merchandise. What we do is confiscate the items from the person selling them. They can risk a citation or arrest, but that's rare for us," explained Jay Casillas, Denver Police Department.
Casillas says most bands don't hire off-duty police officers to stop the illegal sale of black market products. According the lawsuit, Live Nation's already had problems with bootlegged sales in other cities on the tour.
