source:
[
http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070914-prince-to-reclaim-the-internet
-by-suing-youtube-ebay-pirate-bay.html ]
Prince to "reclaim the Internet" by suing YouTube, eBay, Pirate Bay
By Nate Anderson | Published: September 14, 2007 - 11:10AM CT
Prince is planning to make some doves cry over at YouTube headquarters. The
symbol-loving singer has announced that he wants to go after the
video-sharing site, along with eBay and the Pirate Bay, for hosting
unauthorized versions of his music and merchandise.
Prince, described in a recent press release as a "creative genius and
forward thinker by nature," is certainly an interesting fellow. He has just
launched a new CD (Planet Earth), a new perfume line ("3121"), and is doing
a 21-night stand in London at which a half million people are expected to
pay actual British pounds to see Prince in the flesh (yes, we're amazed
too). This is the man who once changed his name to a symbol and currently
runs an official web site (3121.com, of course) that looks to be written in
a Princified version of "lolcat," telling members to "use their 4mer login
and password 2 update ur in4mation."
Prince's attacks on the sites come just a couple of months after he
released his latest album for free across the UK in an issue of the Mail on
Sunday. It's understandable that he might not be happy about counterfeit
merchandise bearing his brand being sold on eBay for profit, and the Pirate
Bay makes it simple to get entire copies of his albums, but it's much less
clear why His Purpleness has his velvet trousers in a bunch about YouTube;
no one would use grainy music videos as a substitute for Prince albums or
live shows.
It's even odder when one considers how well Prince has done from the free
CD giveaway, which certainly boosted his UK profile before his current
21-night gig in London. After giving the disc away to the entire country,
he's now concerned about short video clips on YouTube?
Prince might not have much of a case, anyway. Unless courts find that the
DMCA does not apply to YouTube, it continues to have a "safe harbor" that
shelters it from these sorts of legal cannonballs so long as it complies
with proper takedown requests. eBay, which has faced problems with
counterfeit goods for years, is also used to dealing with such situations,
and The Pirate Bay has so far proved impervious to attack.
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