PRESS RELEASE



NEXT STEP IN LEGAL BATTLE: "UPTOWN" WILL DEPOSE PRINCE



CONTACTS



Alex Hahn, Esq.

David Evans, Esq.

Hanify& King, P.C.

(617) 423-0400, ext. 261

cah@hanify.com

dle@hanify.com




Paul Rapp, Esq.

Cohen, Dax & Koenig

(518) 432-1028

prapp@capital.net




May 21, 1999



UPTOWN Magazine, which is engaged in a legal battle with the Artist Formerly Known as Prince, today informed Prince's representatives that attorneys for the magazine will question Prince under oath at a deposition on June 25, in New York City.



Uptown's move to depose Prince is the latest development in a saga that began in February when Prince sued Uptown, a magazine devoted to analyzing Prince's music, in U.S. District Court in New York. Prince claimed that Uptown unlawfully reprinted the unpronounceable Symbol that he now uses to identify himself, and that Uptown tried to pass itself off as an "official" Prince publication.



Uptown struck back in April with a countersuit charging that Prince is improperly using the legal system to drive a competitor out of business. Uptown claimed that Prince wants to clear the marketplace for his own website and planned official magazine. In a direct attack on Prince's infamous new "name," Uptown also asked the court to rule that the musician enjoys no copyright or trademark rights in the unpronounceable symbol.



In another development, Prince admitted in legal papers that he provided media outlets with downloadable, computerized font copies of the Symbol. Reply to Amended Counterclaims, 20, 24. Uptown asserts that Prince, having freely given Uptown and other publications permission to re-print the Symbol, cannot now sue Uptown for doing so.



Alex Hahn, Esq. of Hanify & King, P.C. in Boston, the law firm representing Uptown, said that Prince's legal effort seems to be in disarray. Since filing the suit, he said, Prince's representatives have taken no further steps to move the suit forward.
"His attorneys must realize this suit is a complete turkey, but they're afraid to contravene the wishes of their rich, famous client," Hahn said. "Prince, above all else, wants to drive Uptown out of business. Fortunately, the law does not allow the court system to be used in such a malicious way."



Since the suit was filed, Uptown has ceased identifying Prince as the Symbol, and has adopted an even more prominent disclaimer announcing that the magazine "is in no way affiliated with, authorized by, or connected to the artist formerly known as Prince, Paisley Park, N.P.G. Records, or Warner Bros. Records."



Uptown's staff members remain strong admirers of Prince's music despite the emotionally draining reality of the lawsuit. Recent issues of the magazine, while publishing updates on the suit, have continued to devote most of their space to analysis of Prince's music.



"We're upset about the lawsuit, but to let the magazine become a forum for Artist-bashing isn't fair to our readers," said Lars Einarsson, editor of Uptown.



For more information about the lawsuit, visit http://www.uptown.se.