US rapper Eminem has launched legal action against an Australian beach brand with the name ‘Swim Shady’ for trademark infringement, claiming the name is too similar to his rap pseudonym Slim Shady. The brand is required to respond to a petition filed by Eminem next week.
The rapper’s lawyers accused the Sydney-based brand of creating a “false association” with Eminem.
Swim Shady’s name was registered in Australia in September 2023, having originally launched under the name Slim Shade. It officially began operations in 2024, selling portable beach umbrellas, swim bags, towels and other beach items.
Eminem’s legal team lodged their opposition to the company’s trademark in Australia in October 2024.
Earlier this year, the brand filed a trademark in the US for the term ‘Swim Shady,’ which was granted. Shortly afterwards, Eminem’s team filed a petition to cancel the trademark.
Eminem trademarked the name Slim Shady in the US in 1999 with the release of the eponymous album. However, he only filed a trademark for the Slim Shady name in Australia in January 2025.
Swim Shady’s owner Jeremy Scott confirmed the legal action to Guardian Australia and said that the company will fight the claims.
“Swim Shady is a grass roots Australian company that was born out of a desire to produce stylish and effective sun shades and other items to protect from the harsh Australian sun,” Scott said in a joint statement with his partner, Elizabeth Afrakoff.
“We will defend our valuable intellectual property. Given the matters are before the court, we do not propose to say any more at this time,” he added.
Sydney intellectual property legal specialist firm Meyer West IP is listed as Swim Shady’s legal representative.
Eminem became known globally in 2000 with the release of his hit single ‘The Real Slim Shady,’ winning a Grammy for best rap solo performance. His lawyers said the name has become “distinctive and famous” and exclusively associated with his rap career.
It isn’t the only legal battle that Eminem is fighting over the use of the term ‘shady’.
Eminem alleged trademark infringement by the Reasonably Shady podcast in a case that has been going since 2023. The podcast’s hosts, Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon, have been cast members of ‘The Real Housewives of Potomac’ since 2016, and decided to start the podcast in 2021.
He successfully won NZ$600,000 (then AU$535,000) in 2017 after New Zealand’s high court ruled the National Party infringed the rapper’s copyright in a 2014 election campaign advertisement that used a version of his hit ‘Lose Yourself’ in campaign material.
Australia is no stranger to high-profile American singers entering a trademark dispute with Australian businesses. In 2022, Kanye West launched legal action against Melbourne burger shop College Dropout Burgers. The case was thrown out by Australia’s federal court in 2023 after the rapper and his legal team failed to turn up.
Last year, an Australian court overturned an earlier ruling that US pop star Katy Perry infringed on the trademark of Australian designer Katie Perry. The Australian designer sold clothes under her birth name and had accused the California Girls singer of trademark infringement when she sold merchandise during her 2014 Australian tour.
The question is, will the real Swim Shady stand up in court.
