PRINCE IS SUING FACEBOOK USERS AND BLOGGERS FOR $22 MILLION FOR COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT
THIS IS WHAT IT SOUNDS LIKE WHEN BLOGS CRY.
Prince, the world-famous recording artist and selfie-connoisseur who protects his intellectual property like a mama grizzly circling her cubs, is serving up another batch of pancakes to would-be infringers in the form of a massive lawsuit worth $22 million.
Yes, the purple one is suing 22 internet users a cool million each for allegedly sharing links to bootleg copies of his concerts on assorted web properties, including fan sites hosted on Google's Blogger and various Facebook pages. The document, filed in San Francisco, lists Prince Rogers Nelson as the official plaintiff versus two individuals--Dan Chodera and Karina Jindrova--and 20 other anonymous users behind websites like "The Ultimate Bootleg Experience" and "PSP Music Blog." One blog was said to contain 363 infringing links.
"The Defendants in this case engage in massive infringement and bootlegging of Prince's material," reads the lawsuit. "Prince has suffered and is continuing to suffer damages in an amount according to proof, but no less than $1 million per Defendant."
Like Metallica's war against Napster in the early aughts, Prince is known for aggressively safeguarding his catalog, which is a major reason why it's so difficult to find legitimate live performances of his online.
Furthermore, the artist formerly known as The Artist has demonstrated that no platform is too large or too small to be considered off limits: Last April, Prince's legal team issued DMCA takedown notices to Vine when users recorded six-second videos of the bloused one in concert.
[Image: 3rd Eye Productions]