So, this is interesting. The man behind that Wolfgang's Vault website is countersuing the artists that sued him last year over allegations of IP violations. And, perhaps more importantly, they are suing those artists' labels who, the Vault's owner claims, were really behind the original lawsuits.
As previously reported, the likes of Led Zeppelin, The Doors, The Grateful Dead and Carlos Santana put their names to litigation against Wolfgang's Vault owner William Sagan claiming that his website breached their IP rights by selling touring merchandise and streaming rare concert footage, all of which Sagan acquired when he bought the archives of late concert promoter Bill Graham. But Sagan, who has disputed the artists' claim from the word go, claims that their lawsuit was actually initiated by SonyBMG and Warner Music because he had refused to licence them content he owned.
Having confirmed his countersuit, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Sagan told reporters: "Far from being about bootlegging, consumer confusion or infringement of any sort, this case is actually a blatant attempt by two of the largest record labels in the world - using artists as a front - to secure new income streams and destroy a legitimate business". He alleges that the labels launched litigation after unsuccessfully seeking the rights to licence Sagan's concert footage, saying they "conspired with each other to concoct fictitious legal claims in an effort to appropriate for themselves the use of musical recordings through an abuse of this judicial process".