Lady Gaga gets tough on fake merchandise sellers

Lady Gaga has launched a pre-emptive strike on people selling fake merchandise outside the venues on her ARTPOP Ball tour.

Legal counsel for the singer's Ate My Heart company and authorised merchandise distributor Bravado International Group filed a lawsuit in Manhattan to draw attention to the activities of those hawking copycat goods outside tour venues and to give enforcement agents the authority to seize and destroy illicit items.

In the past, non-licensed sellers  of items like T-shirts and posters have been largely tolerated outside large concerts, but growing understanding of their impact on legitimate merchandise sales has led to lawsuits against individual vendors - known legally as 'John Does' - as well as more established retail outlets.

Lady Gaga will be performing at Madison Square Gardens on May 13, and has filed the suit after it became clear that counterfeit merchandise sellers were prevalent at earlier dates on the tour.

The suit - reported in the Daily News - claims “bootleggers and counterfeiters will sell, or attempt to sell, bootleg merchandise at the New York show and at subsequent concerts," and says the companies don't want inferior quality goods confusing consumers and hurting Lady Gaga's reputation.

Bravado has taken a similar legal action in the past to protect artists including Muse and Beyonce.

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