Yeah, I think Prince is going a bit loopy. It's what happens when you work with the Mail On Sunday of course. Mr Prince has reportedly issued cease-and-desist letters against three fansites dedicated to him demanding they remove various images, lyrics, album covers and anything linked to his likeness the presence of which, he claims, infringe his copyrights. Yeah, that's right Prince, sue your most dedicated fans why don't you. I mean, who needs them when you can get large cheques off British tabloids for doing nothing?
The owners of three Prince fan communities affected - princefams.com, housequake.com and prince.org - claim the singer isn't actually concerned about copyright infringement but rather is trying to use the infringement allegations to close the web communities down because, while they are generally supportive of the singer, they also do host fan posts that are critical of him. They have joined forces to launch Prince Fans United (http://www.princefansunited.com) and plan to fight the legal letter. And good on them.
On their joint site the web community owners write: "In an extraordinary, but not unfamiliar move, the rock legend Prince is using an army of lawyers to launch attacks on his own fans. Several of the largest web communities dedicated to the artist have received notices to cease and desist all use of photographs, images, lyrics, album covers and anything linked to Prince's likeness. It is our belief that these threats are not made in an attempt to enforce valid copyright as Prince alleges in his threats, rather we believe they are attempts to stifle all critical commentary about Prince. We strongly believe that such actions are in violation of the freedom of speech and should not be allowed".
They continue: "Prince claims that fansites are not allowed to present any artwork with Prince's likeness, to the extreme that he has demanded removal of fan's own photographs of their Prince inspired tattoos and their vehicles displaying Prince inspired license plates. Prince's representatives have requested that the fansites provide them with 'substantive details of the means by which you [the fansites] propose to compensate our clients [Paisley Park Enterprises, NPG Records and Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG)] for damages...'"
On their response to the legal papers, they say: "We have come together to fight back to what amounts to an injustice to the fansites and the very fans who have supported Prince's career, many since the very beginning nearly thirty years ago. It is their hope that Prince will reconsider his position and allow these fansites to continue their existence without constant threats from Prince and his attorneys. Should this not be possible, the fansites are fully prepared to defend their position in the proper court of law, as well as fully prosecute any claims to which they are justly entitled. [We] acknowledge that, while Prince is entitled to control of his copyrights, it should be within the law. The law clearly provides for displaying of images of a celebrity's likeness for newsworthy events or matters which are considered to be public interest. All three websites feel that the photographs and/or likeness displayed on their websites clearly fall within the public interest category. Additionally, the use of photographs is legal based on the fair use doctrine, ie the displaying of album cover art, or the collage headers created by website members using a variety of different photographs".
No response as yet from Prince to the formation of Prince Fans United. He's probably too busy being a bit loopy somewhere.