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Rapper Eminem has lost a trademark battle against Australian beach brand Swim Shady, which the star behind hits such as Lose Yourself and Without Me claimed was trading off his alternative moniker “Slim Shady”.
The rapper, whose real name is Marshall Mathers III, had attempted to effectively block the Australian brand from trading under the name Swim Shady here, in a case that could have global ramifications for his ownership of the phrase.
But in response, the Australian brand asked trademark authorities to remove numerous categories of goods from the protection of Eminem’s existing trademarks, including “Shady” and “Shady Limited”. In an oversight that has since been corrected, Eminem’s representatives had not trademarked “Slim Shady” as a phrase in Australia.
On Wednesday a trademark adjudicator, Benjamin Goldsworthy, accepted that Eminem had operated a streetwear brand called Shady since the early 2000s as part of his career as a performer who had sold more than 200 million albums.
But Goldsworthy noted that Eminem’s enterprises in Australia used the term “Shady” almost exclusively in conjunction with other terms associated with his overall brand, such as “I’m the real Slim Shady”, rather than as a mark of origin. It also was not used to sell goods such as umbrellas, and evidence tendered to the trademark registry showed only three recent sales of merchandise to customers in Australia.
In a further blow, Goldsworthy was not persuaded that Eminem had exercised “actual control” over the sale of goods in Australia using the trademark – as opposed to his label or another business – which the law requires to preserve the use of trademarks.
As a result, Goldsworthy ordered that Eminem’s Shady trademarks in Australia be restricted to protecting a narrower category of items. That means Swim Shady will be able to continue selling its beach merchandise, though the case could be appealed.
Swim Shady, which began selling beach umbrellas, bags and swimwear in late 2024, welcomed the decision. In a statement, co-founder Jeremy Scott, a former executive at NRL club South Sydney Rabbitohs, said he and his partner Elizabeth Afrakoff were grateful for the ruling.
“While this is an important milestone for Swim Shady, it is one step in the broader trade mark proceedings, and we recognise there are still matters to be resolved,” Arakoff said.
Under an international protocol called the Madrid System, trademark results in one country can have a significant impact on the protection of a word or phrase in other jurisdictions.
Eminem’s legal representatives were contacted for comment.
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