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Baby sued for copyright infringement.

Benjamin Strange

Benjamin Strange

Commercial User
Dec 25, 2002
9,737
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New Orleans, LA
www.ufodeathcult.com
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Owner / Tech: Strange Guitarworks
#1
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/7599921.stm

In one of the strangest copyright infringement cases to come before a judge, a mother is fighting for the right to post a video on the internet showing her young son dancing to a song by Prince.
Stephanie Lenz uploaded the 29-second clip to YouTube in February 2007, but it was removed from the site four months later after objections from Universal Music Publishing.
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Wow, dude. Just wow. Also dude.
 
#4
Oh man, Prince just went down a notch in my book.

In reading the article, (and unless Prince releases his own rebuttal or denial of the claims made) it sure looks like he had Universal initiate legal action.

More recently, Andrew Bain, a north London dentist, secured a recording contract with Sony BMG on the strength of his operatic pop version of Prince's Purple Rain, but was then told that the song's creator did not like his rendition and would not allow him to release it.

In her complaints, as outlined in court papers, Ms Lenz describes Prince as "notorious for his efforts to control all uses of his material on and off the internet".

"[Ms] Lenz alleges that Universal is a sophisticated corporation familiar with copyright actions, and that rather than acting in good faith, Universal acted solely to satisfy Prince," her complaint states.

For Prince, this kind of control is "a matter of principle", as Universal acknowledges. For Ms Lenz and the Electronic Frontier Foundation, it's a "bogus" copyright claim. Deciding who is right will be a great deal harder than child's play for the US courts.
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The artist formerly respected. Terrible! Terrible! Terrible!
 
#5
If Van Gogh were still alive, would he want his "Starry Night" printed on my credit card? Probably not. Same principle.

Yes, Prince is a bit wonky, but he created the music, so he has every right to control who uses it and how.
 
#6
MonetBass said:
If Van Gogh were still alive, would he want his "Starry Night" printed on my credit card? Probably not. Same principle.

Yes, Prince is a bit wonky, but he created the music, so he has every right to control who uses it and how.
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I disagree, he does have the right to an extent but ultamitely it lies in the hands of ASCAP or BMI. Prince cannot say "I do not like this radio station, I do not want my music played on it." If I buy his CD I will play it where and when I see fit.
 
#7
hmm, i wonder which brings more good promotion for his music...a cute baby singing his song, or his purple lawsuit.

i understand why he's so protective, considering his history and what not...but he's acting really Ulrich.
 
#8
jady said:
I disagree, he does have the right to an extent but ultamitely it lies in the hands of ASCAP or BMI. Prince cannot say "I do not like this radio station, I do not want my music played on it." If I buy his CD I will play it where and when I see fit.
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You have limited rights over the music you buy. You can listen to it pretty much anywhere, but you can not broadcast it without permission. YouTube is considered broadcasting.

Radio stations have permission to play songs, and they pay the artist every time they play a song.

In this case, they are being stupid, of course. They should fight against abuse, but this is not abuse.
 
#11
MonetBass said:
If Van Gogh were still alive, would he want his "Starry Night" printed on my credit card? Probably not. Same principle.

Yes, Prince is a bit wonky, but he created the music, so he has every right to control who uses it and how.
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No, it's not the same principle. We're talking about a short video of a dancing baby, posted on the Internet for the heck of it--no one's making any money off of it. If a Prince song was used in a credit card commercial, of course the artist should have the right to control its use.
 
#18
MakiSupaStar said:
I heard a story about Prince, now I'm not sure where it is, maybe someone with more time can dig it up. I guess a group of musicians were getting together to make a tribute album to him. Prince caught wind of it, and sued the record label recording it, and IIRC, he sued the musicians for their recordings too.
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That's a textbook doosh-bag!!!! :mad:
 

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