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Thread started 10/01/02 6:05pm

july

Indepth MTV article on Prince copyright infringement lawsuit

Prince Fan's Attempt To 'Free The Music' Could Cost Him $150K Per MP3

http://www.mtv.com/news/a...tory.jhtml

Webmaster claims he just provided links to MP3 site, but Prince camp isn't budging.

By Jennifer Vineyard

Prince filed a federal copyright infringement lawsuit against a Seattle Webmaster on Thursday, claiming that his site had posted downloads to unauthorized songs. The Webmaster denies this claim.

"All I did was link directly to songs [on


another, unrelated Web site]," Matthew Lankford said. "And I've been unemployed for the last year. I live in a studio apartment in downtown Seattle. They're basically suing me for my Top Ramen money."

Thirty-three-year-old Lankford, who runs the Me'shell Ndegeocello fan site FreeMyHeart.com, said that he linked to upwards of 50 recordings from another Web site which were taken from Prince's Xenophobia live concert performances this past June. Since Prince is seeking damages of $150,000 per song, that could total up to $7.5 million.

However, Prince's lawyer said that it wasn't just links that irked the Purple One. "Lankford had both sound files and links to other sites," Jerry Blackwell said. "And some of those links were to other sites that he directed and controlled."

Lankford, who disputes having any control over the other Web sites, said that he first got word that Prince's camp was upset with his activities when he received a notice in mid-August via Prince's NPG Music Club, which notified him that he had violated the singer's copyright and demanded the removal of unauthorized music.

Lankford then sent a letter in response which convinced Prince's lawyers that it would take a court action to stop him, since he wrote, "Until my Internet Service Provider says 'No,' or until I receive a judge's decision that says 'No,' I will continue doing what Prince promised in 1995 by freeing the music in a non-profit format."

The Webmaster argued that he wasn't bootlegging, but file-sharing, noting that the entire week of Xenophobia concerts were already being sold as bootlegs elsewhere on the Internet. Lankford then wrote, "My putting up a track or two a day of unreleased material for the 500 people that visit FreeMyHeart.com per day isn't going to harm Prince financially in any way whatsoever. In fact, I put up a link for folks to support Prince by purchasing his most recent album."

Prince's camp next notified Lankford's ISP provider Affinity, who took down his Web site for a month under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Lankford removed the links and had his access restored in mid-September, only to find that the matter, as far as Prince was concerned, was still unresolved.

"Yes, the files are gone," Prince lawyer Blackwell said. "But since he said he would link to every bootleg site he could find, it could happen again. He intends to keep on doing this. We could shut down his site today, and another would pop up tomorrow."

Consequently, Prince's Paisley Park Enterprises filed the suit in U.S. District Court of Minnesota, alleging that there was an "ongoing infringement." Even though any files or links are nowhere to be found on Lankford's site at present, Prince's lawsuit alleges that he "continues to willfully infringe Plantiff's copyright and has indicated that he will continue to infringe Plantiff's copyrights once his Web site is back online."

Lankford, who has discussed the matter with Prince's lawyers, says that he's confused why they're going after him and not the original Web site which posted the music files to begin with. His defense ? that he didn't post the files, and that he took the links down ? seems to have made no impact, he said. Prince's lawsuit claims that by directing his users to the other Web site, he gave access to copyrighted music and allowed others to make copies and transmissions, thereby violating the Copyright Act.

"There are hundreds of bootleggers out there," Blackwell said. "We can't find them all. But we do try to get the ones we do find to act responsibly. [Lankford] is spending his entire day providing unauthorized music to people. He could certainly get authorized music and do the same thing. There's a fan club for that.

"Why he doesn't get a regular job, I do not know," he continued. "He thinks he's a modern day Robin Hood. But I don't think anybody who has a legitimate job and works for a paycheck would willingly be robbed of that check, and that's what's happening to artists. And we'll take whatever measures we have to get them to stop."
[This message was edited Tue Oct 1 18:53:39 PDT 2002 by july]
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Reply #1 posted 10/01/02 6:13pm

2the9s

Maybe he should change the name of his website to FreeMyAss smile
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Reply #2 posted 10/01/02 6:55pm

AzureStar

2the9s said:

Maybe he should change the name of his website to FreeMyAss smile


lol
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Reply #3 posted 10/01/02 7:17pm

SkletonKee

july said:

"Why he doesn't get a regular job, I do not know,"





wow..sounds like somebody has made this issue personal...
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Reply #4 posted 10/01/02 7:29pm

madhouseman

and you are next...
The expanded version of my book PRINCE and The Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions 1983-1984 was released in November 2018. (www.amazon.com/gp/product/1538114623/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0) or www.facebook.com/groups/1...104195943/
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Reply #5 posted 10/01/02 9:46pm

july

SkletonKee said:

july said:

"Why he doesn't get a regular job, I do not know,"





wow..sounds like somebody has made this issue personal...



Prince's Lawyer Jerry Blackwell said: "Why he doesn't get a regular job, I do not know," he continued. "He thinks he's a modern day Robin Hood. But I don't think anybody who has a legitimate job and works for a paycheck would willingly be robbed of that check, and that's what's happening to artists. And we'll take whatever measures we have to get them to stop."

SkletonKee said:

wow..sounds like somebody has made this issue personal...


maybe they are just a little.. lol... hmmm...
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Reply #6 posted 10/01/02 9:46pm

july

madhouseman said:

and you are next...

who is next?
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Reply #7 posted 10/01/02 9:54pm

madhouseman

july said:

madhouseman said:

and you are next...

who is next?


it tolls for thee

Actually, many elders in the Prince community remember when he sued a few sites many years ago (probably well over 20-25 years back). There used to be a magazine called UPTOWN that got sued and won, but many other magazines (Prince Family, 7, among others) called it quits. I remember it well. That was the start of Prince's long career fizzle. But that has been a quarter of a century and he has learned. The death of his robot wife and the reformation of the Revolution and the rebreakup of them, and his failed restaurant partership with Tony M. have left him wiser and more in control.

Occasionally, Prince will come out of retirement to reflect on his career, but most of his time is spent now threatening to release Purple Rain 4 (The reserrection of THE KID) and promising to rerecord his entire catalog.

He is still trying to get his WB masters, but that is another story for another time.
The expanded version of my book PRINCE and The Purple Rain Era Studio Sessions 1983-1984 was released in November 2018. (www.amazon.com/gp/product/1538114623/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0) or www.facebook.com/groups/1...104195943/
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Reply #8 posted 10/01/02 10:20pm

lovemachine

avatar

madhouseman said:

july said:

madhouseman said:

and you are next...

who is next?


it tolls for thee

Actually, many elders in the Prince community remember when he sued a few sites many years ago (probably well over 20-25 years back). There used to be a magazine called UPTOWN that got sued and won, but many other magazines (Prince Family, 7, among others) called it quits. I remember it well. That was the start of Prince's long career fizzle. But that has been a quarter of a century and he has learned. The death of his robot wife and the reformation of the Revolution and the rebreakup of them, and his failed restaurant partership with Tony M. have left him wiser and more in control.

Occasionally, Prince will come out of retirement to reflect on his career, but most of his time is spent now threatening to release Purple Rain 4 (The reserrection of THE KID) and promising to rerecord his entire catalog.

He is still trying to get his WB masters, but that is another story for another time.


lol
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Reply #9 posted 10/02/02 12:31am

LadyCabDriver

avatar

SkletonKee said:

july said:

"Why he doesn't get a regular job, I do not know,"





wow..sounds like somebody has made this issue personal...

well why not? matt made it personal when he decided to disregard Prince's warning to take those songs of his website.
***************************************************
Seems like the overly critical people are the sheep now days. It takes guts to admit that you like something. -Rdhull

...it ain't where ya from, it's where ya at... - Rakim
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Reply #10 posted 10/02/02 12:56am

freakyfeet

LadyCabDriver said:

SkletonKee said:

july said:

"Why he doesn't get a regular job, I do not know,"





wow..sounds like somebody has made this issue personal...

well why not? matt made it personal when he decided to disregard Prince's warning to take those songs of his website.


No he didn't - that wasn't personal, just repeating a comment by Prince regarding "free the music". He never made ANY personal comments about Prince or his work.

Blackwell's comment about Matt's work is at best irrelevant and at worse potentially libelous as there may be a genuine reason for Matt not working of which Blackwell isn't aware.

I'm stunned that a lawyer would make such a comment !


...and Prince didn't give the warning to Matt, his lawyers did - BIG difference. I just hope that the ambulance that Blackwell was chasing didn't dent his car too much !
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Reply #11 posted 10/02/02 12:59am

freakyfeet

lovemachine said:

madhouseman said:

july said:

madhouseman said:

and you are next...

who is next?


...Actually, many elders in the Prince community remember when he sued a few sites many years ago (probably well over 20-25 years back). There used to be a magazine called UPTOWN that got sued and won, but many other magazines (Prince Family, 7, among others) called it quits.


lol


USED to be a magazine called Uptown ???

Its alive and well and available at www.uptown.se my friend !

...oh and for the record, Uptown didn't win anything, they came to a settlement with Princes lawyers.
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Reply #12 posted 10/02/02 1:03am

Mr7

If you believe the 'I'm a poor unemployed victim' line of Lankers you are a fool.

He was warned in writing by Prince to remove the files or face legal action. He chose however, to continue to provide the files and promote them on this site. In addition to that he openly defied Prince by replying that he would not refrain from posting Prince's music.

Prince is the creator and owner of the work not Lanker. Lanker has no right to make the music avaliable. He certainly doesn't have the right to do as he pleases with the music when the owner (i.e PRINCE) requests that he stops.

I think the representative in the article makes a very good point, instead of spending 24/7 running a website that provides music he does not own, why does Lanker not seek employment?

It's a good indicator as to the nature of his character.
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Reply #13 posted 10/02/02 1:11am

NuPwrSoul

Prince Fan's Attempt To 'Free The Music' Could Cost Him $150K Per MP3

http://www.mtv.com/news/a...tory.jhtml

Webmaster claims he just provided links to MP3 site, but Prince camp isn't budging.

By Jennifer Vineyard

Lankford then sent a letter in response which convinced Prince's lawyers that it would take a court action to stop him, since he wrote, "Until my Internet Service Provider says 'No,' or until I receive a judge's decision that says 'No,' I will continue doing what Prince promised in 1995 by freeing the music in a non-profit format."


There you go. You wanted a judge's decision? Now you're going to get one.

I'm always confuse why people are surprised when the shit they call upon themselves finally hits the fan.
.
[This message was edited Wed Oct 2 1:12:02 PDT 2002 by NuPwrSoul]
"That...magic, the start of something revolutionary-the Minneapolis Sound, we should cherish it and not punish prince for not being able to replicate it."-Dreamshaman32
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Reply #14 posted 10/02/02 1:15am

Mr7

NuPwrSoul said:

Prince Fan's Attempt To 'Free The Music' Could Cost Him $150K Per MP3

http://www.mtv.com/news/a...tory.jhtml

Webmaster claims he just provided links to MP3 site, but Prince camp isn't budging.

By Jennifer Vineyard

Lankford then sent a letter in response which convinced Prince's lawyers that it would take a court action to stop him, since he wrote, "Until my Internet Service Provider says 'No,' or until I receive a judge's decision that says 'No,' I will continue doing what Prince promised in 1995 by freeing the music in a non-profit format."


There you go. You wanted a judge's decision? Now you're going to get one.

I'm always confuse why people are surprised when the shit they call upon themselves finally hits the fan.
.
[This message was edited Wed Oct 2 1:12:02 PDT 2002 by NuPwrSoul]


Ditto. Well said.

Now any logical and reasonable person would look at the above quote which provides ample evidence of why Lanker is facing legal action and this 'discussion' would be over.

Lanker invited legal action.
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Reply #15 posted 10/02/02 1:34am

NuPwrSoul

Prince Fan's Attempt To 'Free The Music' Could Cost Him $150K Per MP3

http://www.mtv.com/news/a...tory.jhtml

Webmaster claims he just provided links to MP3 site, but Prince camp isn't budging.

By Jennifer Vineyard

"All I did was link directly to songs [on another, unrelated Web site]," Matthew Lankford said. ...

Thirty-three-year-old Lankford, who runs the Me'shell Ndegeocello fan site FreeMyHeart.com, said that he linked to upwards of 50 recordings from another Web site which were taken from Prince's Xenophobia live concert performances this past June. ...

However, Prince's lawyer said that it wasn't just links that irked the Purple One. "Lankford had both sound files and links to other sites," Jerry Blackwell said. "And some of those links were to other sites that he directed and controlled."


Really though. Do you think that Prince's attorney's are that stupid to fall for the "links" defense? Most of those links were to a site that you managed that had "suomynona" as the managing directory. That same "speakeasy" webhosting service became your backup when freemyheart went on hiatus. Do you want us to dig up the URLs? So please drop that weak defense.
.
[This message was edited Wed Oct 2 1:36:49 PDT 2002 by NuPwrSoul]
"That...magic, the start of something revolutionary-the Minneapolis Sound, we should cherish it and not punish prince for not being able to replicate it."-Dreamshaman32
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Reply #16 posted 10/02/02 1:38am

Supernova

avatar

NuPwrSoul said:

Really though. Do you think that Prince's attorney's are that stupid to fall for the "links" defense? Most of those links were to a site that you managed that had "suomynona" as the managing directory. That same "speakeasy" webhosting service became your backup when freemyheart went on hiatus. Do you want us to dig up the URLs? So please drop that weak defense.
[This message was edited Wed Oct 2 1:36:49 PDT 2002 by NuPwrSoul]

Ahhh, the pieces are coming together.
This post not for the wimp contingent. All whiny wusses avert your eyes.
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Reply #17 posted 10/02/02 2:48am

2the9s

I heard that he's also going to be sued by Nissin Foods USA for slandering the name of Top Ramen noodles.

smile

arrow FreeMySoup
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Reply #18 posted 10/02/02 2:51am

CalhounSq

avatar

FIN
heart prince I never met you, but I LOVE you & I will forever!! Thank you for being YOU - my little Princey, the best to EVER do it prince heart
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Reply #19 posted 10/02/02 9:14pm

Dippydippydope

freakyfeet said:

lovemachine said:

madhouseman said:

july said:

madhouseman said:

and you are next...

who is next?


...Actually, many elders in the Prince community remember when he sued a few sites many years ago (probably well over 20-25 years back). There used to be a magazine called UPTOWN that got sued and won, but many other magazines (Prince Family, 7, among others) called it quits.


lol


USED to be a magazine called Uptown ???

Its alive and well and available at www.uptown.se my friend !

...oh and for the record, Uptown didn't win anything, they came to a settlement with Princes lawyers.


Ummm... I think the whole post was sort of a joke. The comment about Prince's robot wife and Purple Rain 4 were give-aways...

but maybe that was just me.
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Reply #20 posted 10/02/02 11:16pm

july

madhouseman said:

july said:

madhouseman said:

and you are next...

who is next?


it tolls for thee

Actually, many elders in the Prince community remember when he sued a few sites many years ago (probably well over 20-25 years back). There used to be a magazine called UPTOWN that got sued and won, but many other magazines (Prince Family, 7, among others) called it quits. I remember it well. That was the start of Prince's long career fizzle. But that has been a quarter of a century and he has learned. The death of his robot wife and the reformation of the Revolution and the rebreakup of them, and his failed restaurant partership with Tony M. have left him wiser and more in control.

Occasionally, Prince will come out of retirement to reflect on his career, but most of his time is spent now threatening to release Purple Rain 4 (The reserrection of THE KID) and promising to rerecord his entire catalog.

He is still trying to get his WB masters, but that is another story for another time.


confuse ummm okay.. lol... smile... 8) wink nuts lol...
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Reply #21 posted 10/02/02 11:23pm

Supernova

avatar

2the9s said:

I heard that he's also going to be sued by Nissin Foods USA for slandering the name of Top Ramen noodles.

smile

arrow FreeMySoup

You'll be contacted by the lawyers of Oodles of Noodles for having links to their product on your site.
This post not for the wimp contingent. All whiny wusses avert your eyes.
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