Prince moves to sue fan sites

[Jeff da Weasel]

Source

 

LONDON (Reuters) - Fan sites dedicated to Prince say they have been served legal notice to remove all images of the singer, his lyrics and "anything linked to Prince's likeness," and have vowed to fight what they said was censorship.

 

The move was a shock to his army of followers and came two months after Prince threatened to sue YouTube and other major Internet sites for unauthorized use of his music.

 

But by targeting fan sites directly, Prince risks a backlash, and the sites have vowed to unite under the banner "Prince Fans United" and take the matter to court if necessary.

 

===

 

Just... wow. What the hell can his Purpleness be thinking? Can ANYONE provide an inkling of why any artist would do something like this? I've wracked my brain and can't come up with anything that would justify it.

[LiveMusic]

Either he's on dope or he has a really bad lawyer. That might be the dumbest thing I've heard of regarding copyright. I don't see how he can win even if he wins.

[Gus Lozada]

He is just being an asshole.

[thefunkman]

It reminds me of an old Saturday Night Live skit where William Shatner shows up at a Trekkie convention & tells them all to "get a life." As the song says, "It's a thin line between love & hate:" I foresee a messy divorce.

[G Geezer]

Anti-Viral Marketing??

[blue2blue]

Prince is a funny guy.

 

He's sabotaged his career over and over. A lesser talent certainly wouldn't have one any more.

 

That said, the courts have routinely ruled in favor of the general principle that -- if you want to retain rights to your intellectual property and particularly your trademark that you must vigorously defend it.

 

Of course, a wise general picks his battles.

 

The first enemy I went after would not be the camps of friendly followers...

[sventvkg]

This is idiotic of him to do. I guess he figures he doesn't need fans anymore either.

[Jeff da Weasel]

 

The first enemy I went after would not be the camps of friendly followers...

 

 

Yeah. "Don't {censored} on your fans" should probably be high on the list of most entertainers who intend on continuing their career.

[spokenward]

I chimed in on the last Prince thread - and I still think it bears repeating.

 

The source of the story is a grandiose nutball who is trying to promote his media protection services.

 

And also again, Prince's publisher sent really heavy letters out earlier in the year so people are willing to believe that Prince is nuts about this.

 

Well, maybe.

[MikeRivers]

 

He is just being an asshole.

 

Yeah, but think of the publicity that he's getting.

 

Who needs another picture of Prince anyway? Do we really care what this version looks like? It would be nice if more of his music got played on the radio, but I guess that's too much to sue for.

[Ernest Buckley]

I always felt the guy was an a$$, this just validates it more for me. Shame...

[halljams]

 

Yeah, but think of the publicity that he's getting.

 

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WACK!

 

Did the hammer hit you guys hard enough on the head?

[pk1fan]

Yeah, but think of the publicity that he's getting

 

I am and its BAD publicity !

[Alndln2]

the sites have vowed to unite under the banner "Prince Fans United" and take the matter to court if necessary.

I guess they actually like Golden Showers more than Purple Rain.

[franknputer]

 

Prince 'not suing fans' Singer hits back at fansite claims 09.Nov.07 1:00pm Prince has released a statement refuting claims that he is suing a number of fansites. It was reported that lawyers for the singer had ordered several fansites to remove any image that bears his likeness, prompting fans to form a group to fight the demands. However, a statement released by the singer's promoter AEG said: "Prince is not suing his fans, is not looking to penalise fans and nor is he looking to or inhibiting freedom of speech in any way. In fact, he is simply looking to provide Prince fans with exclusive music and images entirely free of charge, and bypassing unofficial and unauthorised phoney fan sites that exploit both consumers and artists. "The action taken earlier this week was not to shut down fansites, or control comment in any way. The issue was simply to do with in regards to copyright and trademark of images and only images, and no lawsuits have been filed. "The three sites in question have falsely positioned themselves as representatives of millions of Prince fans. In fact, many have come out in support of Prince at his official site and even on the message boards of the unofficial sites in question. "Mediation between the parties is currently resolving the matter." The "offending items" were said to be live shots from Prince's 21 nights in London at the O2 Arena earlier this year. The statement also spoke out against fansite piracy. It explained: "Prince is breaking new ground as the first artist to take on the world's largest internet pirates bootleggers, including the notorious The Pirate Bay who have been misrepresenting themselves as a site for 'the fans'. "They are in fact exploiting copyrighted material for their commercial gain. The site has flouted constant legal notices from artists and corporations throughout the world while cashing in on advertising monies. All the time, they keep up the pretence of being an anarchist, 'free music' fansite when it is really a massive money-making venture."

 

 

http://www.nme.com/news/32426

[franknputer]

 

Prince Fans United November 9, 2007 Many members and visitors will doubtless have seen the wildly inaccurate statement today by AEG that "Prince is not suing his fans" and referring to the Prince Fans United sites as "phoney". Not only is this statement confusing, libellous and misleading, we have actually been informed by Prince's representatives that his PR company (Outside PR) sent this in error last night and it has been picked up by a few key media organisations today. We will shortly be issuing a (heavily) revised joint statement, however in the meantime please be aware that stories circulating on the internet that refers to "phoney" fan websites are wildly inaccurate and should not be taken at face value. Outside PR have assured us that every measure is currently being taken to withdraw these articles.

 

 

http://www.princefansunited.com/

[franknputer]

http://princefamsunited.com/:poke::lol:

[franknputer]

princefams.com?!? Anyone else get the idea that they screwed up their application for a domain name & just shrugged it off?:lol:

[Volitan]

He came out with a song the other day, telling all his fans to basically STFU and stop talking trash about him. Decent song.....

[MERCO]

its a poor guy........

[Duddits]

 

Just... wow. What the hell can his Purpleness be thinking? Can ANYONE provide an inkling of why any artist would do something like this? I've wracked my brain and can't come up with anything that would justify it.

 

 

I actually think it's great! Not because I think it's a good thing for an artist to do, but because it's so eccentric and weird, that it's absolutely in character.

 

Prince is eccentric and weird. Despite his recent crap, he's a musical genius and completely eccentric and weird. Why expect or demand anything else?

 

This is just another expression of his oddness which, if you remove it from him, makes him not Prince.

 

Again, I totally agree that this is not a good thing to do, but as an expression of his Princeness, I think it's amusing and in character, and his fans should appreciate it as part of what it means to a Prince fan: not get all huffy about censorship, but be part of his weird and eccentric little world which beats to its own drum.

[Duddits]

 

Yeah, but think of the publicity that he's gettingYeah, but think of the publicity that he's gettingYeah, but think of the publicity that he's getting... WACK! Did the hammer hit you guys hard enough on the head?

 

If Prince were like anyone else, that's what you'd think. But I don't think that's what this is about.

 

I went to a movie with Prince's publicist a while ago. The only thing he had asked her to do recently was remove some of her clothing so that he could wear it!

 

But then again, maybe now that his music is not what it used to be, maybe he's getting all publicity whorish all of a sudden.

[halljams]

 

If Prince were like anyone else, that's what you'd think. But I don't think that's what this is about. I went to a movie with Prince's publicist a while ago. The only thing he had asked her to do recently was remove some of her clothing so that he could wear it! But then again, maybe now that his music is not what it used to be, maybe he's getting all publicity whorish all of a sudden.

 

 

You are talking about him right now. Are you talking about J-Lo? No. You are talking about Prince. That is called publicity.

[Duddits]

 

You are talking about him right now. Are you talking about J-Lo? No. You are talking about Prince. That is called publicity.

 

But is that his goal? (Maybe it is, not saying it isn't, just that sometimes people are talked about despite their best efforts).

[halljams]

 

But is that his goal? (Maybe it is, not saying it isn't, just that sometimes people are talked about despite their best efforts).

 

He is a pop artist. ????