Prince's Estate Files Infringement Claims Over Unauthorised Music

The estate of American singer song-writer, Prince, has filed a copyright and trade mark infringement claim against European individuals and companies including Lovesigne, House Quake and Eye Records. The estate has alleged that the defendants have been selling bootleg versions of the artist's famous music.

In relation to music, bootlegging is the illegal and unofficial remixing of  the original song. The defendants, including individuals from the Netherlands and Belgium, have been accused of conspiring to take advantage of Prince's worldwide fame by creating and offering for sale bootlegs of unreleased studio recordings of his music and unauthorised recordings of live performances.

According to the claim, the defendants have used  Prince's distinctive trade marks to assist with the sale of the bootleg recordings. Amongst other infringed trade marks, Prince's famous personalised symbol incorporating the Egyptian Ankh cross has been used on unlicensed products that the defendants have sold.

The estate has also included a claim for offering counterfeit products. Allegedly, the defendants have used Prince's name, image and likeness without a license or permission. The estate claims that the bootleggers were trading on the substantial goodwill associated with the late singer for unlawful gain.

Prince's estate have commented that during his life (1958-2016), the Purple Rain singer took his music very seriously and worked carefully to protect his work and image through the use of intellectual property rights.

It will be interesting to see how successful Prince's estate will be in their claim.

If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniel & Co. on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.