Eminem claims consumers may mistakenly think he is linked to the Sydney beach brand – but Australia is no stranger to lawsuits from US rappers

Eminem has launched legal action against the Australian beach brand Swim Shady, alleging its name is too close to that of his trademarked alter ego, Slim Shady.

The 53-year-old rapper, real name Marshall B Mathers III, filed a petition to cancel Swim Shady’s US trademark days after it was successfully granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) in September.

Eminem’s petition to USPTO argues Swim Shady’s name could cause confusion and that it falsely suggests he has links to the Sydney-based company, which sells umbrellas for sun protection, swim bags, towels and shorts.

The rapper is also claiming his trademark in Australia has been infringed by Swim Shady, which launched as a business in Australia in December last year.

Eminem’s legal team lodged their opposition to the company’s trademark in Australia in October 2024.

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 grassroots Australian company that was born … to protect people 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.”

Before Swim Shady launched, Eminem held trademarks in Australia on Shady and Shady Limited but not Slim Shady. He subsequently filed a trademark for Slim Shady in Australia in January 2025.

Swim Shady has since filed non-use applications against Eminem’s Shady and Shady Limited trademarks in Australia, arguing they have not been consistently used.

Eminem is also currently fighting the hosts of the Reasonably Shady podcast, Gizelle Bryant and Robyn Dixon, alleging trademark infringement in a case that has been going since 2023.

He successfully won NZ$600,000 (then AU$535,000/£315,000) in 2017 after New Zealand’s high court ruled the ruling National party infringed the rapper’s copyright in a 2014 election campaign advertisement that used strains of his hit Lose Yourself.

Eminem is not the first rapper to enter a trademark fight with an Australian business. In 2022 Kanye West launched legal action against Melbourne burger shop College Dropout Burgers but the case was thrown out by Australia’s federal court in 2023 after the rapper and his legal team failed to turn up.

And in 2019, Jay-Z lodged a lawsuit against Australian business The Little Homie, claiming it had breached his intellectual property with a picture book titled AB to Jay-Z. An advertisement for AB to Jay-Z read: “If you’re having alphabet problems I feel bad for you son, I got 99 problems but my ABC’s ain’t one!”

The case was settled after mediation, with Little Homie agreeing to no longer use Jay-Z’s name or lyrics.

The Guardian has contacted Eminem’s lawyers for comment.