Prolific US singer/songwriter, Prince has instituted a lawsuit against 22 Facebook fans for posting links of his live concerts on their Facebook page and blogs without express authorization from him or his label.
If found guilty in court, the fans would face a damage claim of $22million. He filed the law suit at the Northern District of Carolina, USA.
Although the actual names of most of the defendants in the lawsuit haven’t been revealed and the websites named in the suit can no longer be accessed, the usernames identified in the lawsuit (like “PurpleKissTwo”) indicate that at least some of the targets are Prince die hard fans.
In
the lawsuit, Prince listed his performances from 2011 in North
Carolina, 2002 in Oakland and 1983 in Chicago as his private materials
that have been copyrighted by the accused or defendants.The suit went further to state that the circulation of a 31-year-old live set damages Prince’s earning capability, with the singer leveling charges of direct copyright infringement, ‘unauthorized fixation and trafficking in sound recordings’, contributory copyright infringement and bootlegging.
“Prince has suffered and is continuing to suffer damages in an amount according to proof, but no less than $1 million per defendant,” the lawsuit reads.
Prince has a history of suing anyone who uses his material without permission, but most times doesn’t follow through on his threats. A 2007 effort to sue The Pirate Bay went nowhere. This new lawsuit is likely to go much further.
