back to article Prince sues 22 music file-sharers for ONE MEEELLION dollars each

Prince Rogers Nelson – the artist currently known as Prince – has filed lawsuits against 22 people for $1m in damages apiece, alleging that each posted links to bootleg recordings of his concerts on file-sharing networks. According to court documents [PDF] obtained by The Register, the Purple One has named Dan Chodera, Karina …

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  1. Cliff

    Remedy at law

    >>>substantial, immediate and irreparable injury ... for which there is no adequate remedy at law<<<

    So I'll use the law to sue you for money you doubtless won't have.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Anyone

      Does anyone still listen to his music?

      It's the stuff that will be played to you in purgatory.

      1. earl grey
        Devil

        Re: Anyone

        Did anyone EVER listen to his noise?

        1. Tom 13
          Unhappy

          Re: Anyone

          Technically I did. But please don't blame me.

          I didn't get to pick the music for the Michael Keaton Batman movie.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    The Prince is Poor !

    .. And, how can you sue an unnamed defendant?

    Idiot !

    1. jonathanb Silver badge

      Re: The Prince is Poor !

      In the US, the procedure is to start a "Jon Doe" case, then get orders against Google and Facebook to reveal the IP addresses of the people you are interested in, then get the ISP that owns those addresses to reveal the subscriber, then proceed with the case against the subscriber.

      In the UK, you would get Norwich Parmcal orders against Google, Facebook and the ISP, and then sue the subscriber when you know their name.

      1. Pookietoo
        Headmaster

        Re:Norwich Parmcal

        Norwich Pharmacal

      2. Michael 28

        Re: The Prince is Poor !

        An IP address is not a person, therefore not accountable under law. (Case law supports this)

        I am not a number.

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: The Prince is Poor !

      > .. And, how can you sue an unnamed defendant?

      > Idiot !

      Amazing jump to conclusions there, after self-confessed ignorance of the matter. :)

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So he's saying he's out upwards of $22million? I had no idea he was still so popular! Then again, I had no idea he was still so...well, alive...

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Think I'll pop over to TPB and download his entire discography.

      Then delete it.

      1. Sir Runcible Spoon
        Joke

        Sir

        The calculation of damages.

        If one were referring to a single track, the absolute maximum amount that should be entertained by a court of law should be based (imho) on the following..

        i) Maximum revenue generated by a single track for the artist, after deductions (X)

        ii) Median of X based on number of tracks sold and revenue received (mX)

        ii) Total number of cases of unlawful distribution (aka copyright infringement) (Y)

        Therefore the maximum damages per party could be described as mX/Y

        Obviously this is a simplification, but I can't see that coming to more than about £3.50 in this particular case. Hardly worth the expense of a court case is it?

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      > Then again, I had no idea he was still so...well, alive...

      Indeed. I understood that a member of royalty had sued, not some still-alive bloke with a funny name. It's pretty clear he hasn't quite caught onto the whole 21st century thing, in any case.

  4. TheInternetsFullOfNumbers
    Mushroom

    The Internet's full of numbers

    All part of a long running saga of the Purple One's confused battle with, err..., almost everybody it seems.

    His previous album was released online and left fans angry with a $77 subscription for a 'floating jellyfish' (http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2010/04/02/my-year-with-prince/), and in a fit of pique, he released his most recent through the Daily Mirror (http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/prince---world-exclusive-interview-233220)

    "The internet's completely over. I don't see why I should give my new music to iTunes or anyone else. They won't pay me an advance for it and then they get angry when they can't get it.

    "The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated. Anyway, all these computers and digital gadgets are no good.

    "They just fill your head with numbers and that can't be good for you."

    1. auburnman

      Re: The Internet's full of numbers

      Releasing the album through the Daily Mirror was just bending the rules so he could make a comeback at the #1 spot, PR and spin rather than huffinesss. (As I understood it)

    2. Tom 13
      Paris Hilton

      Re: MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated.

      I think they would have had a better chance at staying hip if they hadn't stopped showing music videos.

      Paris, 'casue she always seems to be able to keep the cameras on herself.

    3. sisk

      Re: The Internet's full of numbers

      The internet's like MTV. At one time MTV was hip and suddenly it became outdated.

      That would be about the time MTV stopped playing music and started playing crappy reality shows, right?

  5. RedneckMother

    The "Glyph" has spoken!

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    My memory of Prince from the 90s ...

    He was called "The Purple Pain".

    Does anyone recall his Camden Lock shop ?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: My memory of Prince from the 90s ...

      > Does anyone recall his Camden Lock shop ?

      No.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Maybe he should quit giving concerts and thus no one can create an unauthorized recording.

    Did these defendants only provide links? If so, that is a crime? Doesn't a search engine do the same thing? Why not go after the sites that allow these evil links to be posted? Surely they are assisting in this crime.

    Did his attorney provide the links with the complaint? If so, then he needs to sue his attorney as now the clerk and the judge have this links as well. He lawyer should not be distributing this illegal information.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @ anon 7:46 GMT

      "Did these defendants only provide links? If so, that is a crime? Doesn't a search engine do the same thing? Why not go after the sites that allow these evil links to be posted? Surely they are assisting in this crime."

      This was Isohunt's argument as well, that you could just as easily find the torrent files through google as with any search engine. Didn't work out too well for them....

  8. Paul J Turner

    Great plan

    Sue the few people that remember or care about you.

    It wasn't the Internet that was over years ago, mate. No wonder nobody will pay you in advance.

    I suspect that this is more an attempt to return to public notice.

  9. Hud Dunlap
    Facepalm

    Thats odd

    I went to a Trans siberian orchestra concert over the holidays. I think everyone and their brother had their phone out recording it.

    Just look up Trans siberian orchestra on you tube and you will find plenty of videos of their concerts.

    1. Tom 13

      Re: Thats odd

      A great deal depends on the artist. I was at a free Bo Diddley concert back when there were luggable video cams but no internet. At the start of the concert he announced that while this performance was free, he made his money by giving concerts and the arts festival committee had paid him. So if he thought anyone was recording it for bootleg purposes, he'd stop and leave the stage. In the middle of the concert he saw something he didn't like and stopped playing until it was resolved. And back in those days spreading pirated copies of stuff was even more difficult than today, so it wasn't likely to cause him what you or I would consider real harm. But it was his concert and I won't fault him for his choices. And yes, I had a helluva good time listening.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Thats odd

        > And back in those days spreading pirated copies of stuff was even more difficult than today, so it wasn't likely to cause him what you or I would consider real harm.

        At the same time, nowadays if you can assert your claims as the copyright holder of a work being distributed online by a third party (case in point: a video of your concert uploaded to YouTube by someone else), you get a cut of the benefits generated by that content (advertising, pay-per-download, etc.) There is a whole new world of opportunity out there if you know how to play the game.

  10. Mark 85

    One of the signs of someone whos career is over.

    Just sue the hell out of everyone to make up for the income you don't get now. <sigh>

    Similar to a patent troll but different.

    The question I'd have for him is that if the Internet was dead in 2010, why is he suing now? It's dead. By his logic, there's no one left on the Internet to share his music (or what passes for music).

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Not even for free

    Presonally I wouldn't even download his music for free being sued for $1M is laughable!

    Reminds me of my favourait Homer quote

    "A library selling books? If I didnt read them for free why would I pay for them"

    Anon - because I dont want to make the midgets "List"

  12. Thorne

    Ummmm

    Are these Americans or is he going to have to file in Durk Durkastan?

  13. This post has been deleted by its author

    1. Vladimir Plouzhnikov

      Re: hmm

      "If we expect artists to make their bread on the road instead of being a bunch of talent less Beiber hacks in the studio then bootlegging really has to be cracked down on."

      Are you seriously suggesting that bootlegs are stopping people from going to concerts?

      1. asdf

        Re: hmm

        >Are you seriously suggesting that bootlegs are stopping people from going to concerts?

        Nah but the live show is his creation and he does get to do with it what he wants. The ticket has contract language about your rights only to watch and not record. Still yeah he is coming across as a jackwagon. I guess you get desperate when you are so irrelevant you are looking at having to play the casino circuit.

        1. Field Marshal Von Krakenfart
          Joke

          Re: hmm

          hmm.... Now the crash test dummies will have to sue you for pirating their lyrics

    2. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: hmm

      "If we expect artists to make their bread on the road"

      I don't expect 'artists' to make their money from doing what they want, in the same way as I expect most people don't make a living doing what they want either.

      Technology changes everyones job eventually, get over it, move on.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Of course. It totally makes sense that people who are desperate enough to scavenge lousy bootlegs unobtainable from legitimate sources are, due to their doing so, far less likely to attend a concert in person or buy a normal album from the artist in question.

    I mean, as a musician, I get wanting to have some control over how your work is distributed. But if you genuinely believe that hearing a bootleg is going to convince ten thousand people to avoid your work in the future, you probably have other issues than piracy when it comes to your commercial prospects.

  15. dssf

    Not a Princely Sum to Obtrieve

    Per celebrity.com, Prince Rogers Nelson is valued at (has net worth at) USD $300m. This $22 suit will probably bankrupt the pirates, enrich (but not "enwealthen", to richly "coin" a word) the lawyer to some small amount -- but if there are zero assets of monetary value, there probably is very little to be "obtrieved".

    Just my $0.0073 (yes, I shifted the decimal to devalue my comment quite a bit). Cha-ching!

    1. Tom 13

      Re: Not a Princely Sum to Obtrieve

      Depends on the long term plan.Maybe he's planning to file a "joint and several" suite with unnamed co-defendants. Then after he's won summary judgement reveal that FB and Google are the co-defendants.

  16. Nigel Brown

    Pompous prat

    That's all.

  17. Da Weezil

    .. and of course the purple poser is so musically relevant, I mean look at the long long long list of his success at the top of the charts.

    Another case of some reasonable talent totally eclipsed by egomania and a failure to grasp reality, After encouraging a lot of negativity over the "symbol" stupidity, he seems ready to demonstrate his lack of engagement with this.

    For me Doves Cry and purple rain marked the high-water of his career - after that - the tide went out - along with my ability to take him seriously.

  18. John Tserkezis

    OOh, Prince (or the artist formerly known as *&%^&#%) is suing for copyright infringment on a concert?

    I had better download that concert to see what the fuss is about.

  19. Tromos

    Chuck a sueball back

    Sue him for persistently passing himself off as an entertainer.

  20. Forget It

    Prince & The Pauper (not)

    Purple reign of terroor

  21. Graham Marsden
    Facepalm

    To quote from "I'm Sorry, I Haven't a Clue"...

    The artist formerly known as Prince

    On stage would posture and mince.

    Then for a giggle

    He changed his name to a squiggle

    And hasn't been heard from since!

  22. Vordicae

    Begin the Internet warcry !

    STREISAND ! .... Streisand ! ... streisand !

    now, someone pass the popcorn and 3-D glasses (yes the red and blue ones from the 80's!)

  23. Kevin Johnston

    Prince/Squiggle?

    I seem to recall that when he stopped being Prince he made all sorts of pretentious statements about being a different person from Prince.....I assume that didn't extend to not taking the royalties then

    1. Michael 28

      Re: Prince/Squiggle?

      that's NON-ASCII squiggle to you, Matey! ;-)

  24. MJI Silver badge

    Aren't concerts on the internet advertising

    If he is good you then want to see him.

    Does this mean he is terrible and trying to hide it?

  25. Amazon Wageslave
    Devil

    wanker

    Prince has been a prick for years: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/11/14/prince_b3ta_dmca/

  26. Scuby

    The only concert I've ever been to where...

    ... the "Artist" was actually booed back on stage. He was on for about 60 minutes before going off, people had paid upwards of £60 for a ticket, and started booing and his support act had to come back on until he could be brought back out. (O2 Docklands).

    Seriously, it's a bootleg of a gig that won't be released for commercial availability. No harm has been done, he's just peeved he didn't think to release a CD or DVD of the gig himself.

  27. Anonymous Coward
    Happy

    Is Prince even still around?

    I liked his "Can't Touch This" dance with the baggy trousers, but that's about it.

  28. Fair Dinkum

    Buh-bye.

    That's it, Mr. Prince. i kind of used to like you music, but I will not purchase any more of it.

  29. Awil Onmearse

    I think he's pretty ok, as a guitarist

    As a human being, not so much. No way would I pay a penny to hear the entitled little shit after he borrowed an incredibly rare vintage guitar from the house band on a TV show in the US, then proceeded to smash it at the end of the set.

    He is deserving of nothing but a kick in the goolies.

  30. Grogan Silver badge

    Prince sickens me and you couldn't pay me to listen to that little prick's drivel. I hate it.

    If someone pays me a million dollars, I suppose I could promise not to piss on his grave though.

    Go ahead and sue me for "saying mean things on the internet".

  31. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    He's now dropped the lawsuit apparently

    Surprised the original article hasn't been updated to reflect this.

    http://www.scribd.com/doc/202980255/Prince-v-Chodera-Voluntary-Dismissal-Without-Prejudice

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