Posted on 12/23/2021 1:52:07 PM PST by WeaslesRippedMyFlesh
After a spate of bad publicity over winning a Goliath-versus-David lawsuit, Eric Clapton’s management has announced it does not intend to collect the money owed by a German woman who was sued for putting a bootleg CD of a 1980s Clapton concert up for sale on eBay.
The woman had been ordered to pay approximately $4,000 after a judge ruled she had infringed Clapton’s copyright by trying to sell the more than 30-year-old CD, which her late husband had purchased at a department store, for 9.95 euros, or roughly $11.20. The illicit disc was removed from the site after a day and was not actually sold.
[snip]
The statement, issued to the musician’s fan club, said that “when the full facts of this particular case came to light and it was clear the individual is not the type of person Eric Clapton or his record company wish to target, Eric Clapton decided not to take any further action and does not intend to collect the costs awarded to him by the court. Also, he hopes the individual will not herself incur any further costs.”
Said the statement, “It is not the intention to target individuals selling isolated CDs from their own collection, but rather the active bootleggers manufacturing unauthorized copies for sale.
[snip]
“I’m going to cause a disturbance in the force, but I never liked Clampton.”
He was probably way before your time.
Remember when Clapton stole Bob Marley’s,I shot the sheriff, song?
I thought his name was Clapner….
/sarc
I recall a similar Goliath vs David blunder by the Starbucks legal team about 20 years ago when they sued a tiny Russian Orthodox monastery for selling a “Christmas Blend” coffee as part of their fundraising efforts. Starbucks claimed proprietary rights to the term “Christmas Blend.” I think Starbucks lost the case, and the bad publicity made it even worse.
“I’m going to cause a disturbance in the force, but I never liked Clampton.”
I think I actually wore out a vinyl copy of “Slowhand.”
Clapton has sold Stratocasters like Obama sold guns.
You caught it.
I’ve heard Eric Clapner, … I think it was a wonderful thing that Eric Clapner the musician did…So I think that’s the wonderful part about it, but listen – I like Eric Clapner!
— Joycelyn Elders
https://www.idlehearts.com/2004180/ive-heard-eric-clapner-i-think-it-was-a-wonderful-thing-that
He cost that poor woman $4000. Guess there is no such thing as too much.
Frank Zappa packaged the bootlegs and sells them today on FrankZappa.com
Clapton is a master craftsman as well as a man who honors those that came before him. I saw him with Cream in 1968. Not a finer improvisational guitarist on the planet.
Clapton covered it, and that’s not the same as “stealing” it. A lot of the songs on early Beatles and Stones albums were covers of American R&B, Soul, and Blues performers. Rather than ripping them off, in some cases - particularly with regard to Blues performers - it enhanced their careers by exposing them to a wider audience.
It was a lose/lose situation.
If he doesnt’t defend his copyrights, he loses them. So he had to sue. But that had to be embarrassing.
Remember when he stole George Harrison’s wife?
The excerpt said it was "bootleg" but also seemingly purchased legitimately at a department store. What exactly makes it illicit?
lol that too.
He put his name to the song on the 461 album. Definition of stealing.
I have a few concert CDs which are probably bootlegs like that. I'll have to remember to not sell them in Germany.
I don’t like him either.. but he could have just had them take it down for violating tos.
“ I think I actually wore out a vinyl copy of “Slowhand.””
461 Ocean Blvd for me.
Idiots probably spend $200,000 in legal fees to collect $4000 - which they now won’t collect.
I understand that under copyright laws you have to defend the rights or potentially lose them. But this could have been handled a lot simpler.
461 Ocean Blvd
same here
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