mystifying1 said:

I have a cat named Prince. And he's a lot easier to get along with than that singer of the same name.

This happened before when he released NPS and a lot of the fan buzz on the web was negative. He cloased down a number of fansites and magazines. It was awful and nasty and shat on the efforts of a lot of dedicated people.

I'm assuming that if this site cuts all copyrighted material - pictures, etc - and so long as we only quoted from less than 10% of song lyrics etc in discussion, Prince and his lawyers would not be able to shut the site down. Freedom of speech and expression of thought, etc... Also, with ergards copyright, people play covers of his material all the time... that is allowed. Discussion of lyrical/musical content in a critical forum is also allowed. We should just remove all the stuff he can get huffty about and carry on regardless... either that OR get rid of the Prince section and retain all the other sections, discuss other artists and subjevct matter and stop supporting Prince either monetarily through purchasing his music/concert tickets, etc or by word of mouth promoting his material, etc. He'd soon get the message.

those comments are vicious! This is getting ugly

Who really cares? He'll never be able to control everything the way he wants to. There'll always be access to this stuff somewhere on the web...

Oh Prince. Why you wanna treat me so bad when you know I love you?

Well that little purple nazi can stop hating me from now on...

Isn't he the little bitch that dogged Kathy Griffin and stuff? Fucking weak-ass little 'mo (and I can say it cuz I am) needs to shut his pie-hole.

I like this guy, he really has a point when he states that Prince is a BULLY! http://www.youtube.com/wa...3nVAsHdCKw

I think prince needs a slap-up-side-the-head to wake him up to reality.
It's so sad. I think the real true Prince died when he changed his name to a symbol.

If it gets a few people off the internet a bit and into their "real" lives...

it's all worth it.

I dig Prince more than ever, I must say! Bravo!

See you in Paris.

superspaceboy said:

The real kicker is that Prince can't stand not to be the center of attention. He always seemed so hurt by the contempt and derision he received during the Symbol years. But in both periods of popularity -back in the day in the 80's and now post-Musicology -he looks down on those of his who sign his paycheck.


You can't have it both ways, lady.

Anxiety said:

And to think there's still a fair chunk of the fanbase that rails against comparisons between Prince and Michael Jackson.

I love Prince's work and respect him as a musician, but to say he's NOT a nutbar sheltered from reality and surrounded by hoards of Yes Men at this point would be a fucking stretch.

Hmmm.. anybody else thnk it's safe to say that 'PlanetEarth' was not in fact Prince

the lunatic is just trying to take over the asylum.

Trying to bring us down from within huh?!?!

Lighten Up People !!!

Have you ever heard the saying "there is no such thing as bad publicity"
Do not take things so seriously!

Everyone who has been on this trip for many years have seen this many times before. It is a behaviour.

Don't get upset and spit your dummy - Go with the ride -it's all good.

Keep the faith.

Anxiety said:

lol,....Nobody gives a crap about the dancing baby, tattoos or a party at your house on youtube with Prince posters.

Nobody gives a crap about whinny little twerps sitting on their ass because they are not getting free shit.

The real point is lawers want to make a point to all you nerds that their are laws that also govern the internet,..... and by the looks of things with everybodys panties in a bunch they have done their job lol

nurse said:

hey nurse, i know how much you love prince and i see your posts on the org
regularly and i think it's quite sad that prince is driving away people in
doing this, who care about him so much.

perhaps it helps to consider that the prince we fell in love with and whom
we all supported and followed is now no longer the same man.

i think the prince as we all knew him slowly faded out ever since 1998 and
never really recovered, except for some musical genious outbursts on tour,
or on some records.

but for the most part, ever since 1998 he's been changing and growing more
and more distant from the artist we all once knew.

i'd say that's all the more reason to celebrate the prince of old and not
let these latest actions of his former self polute your love for the work
you've grown up with and adore to this day.

and heck, perhaps, one day in the distant future he will revert back to
something we can relate to and understand. something more like his 80's
and early 90's self than this weird obsessed person who wants to control
even our thoughts on a website.

violetblues said:

You're a big fan of censorhsip, aren't you?

It doesn't matter who you think does or doesn't care about somebody's tattoo or baby. The fact is Prince (or his legal team; whoever's okay-ing this shit) are going beyond their legal rights of ownership. Prince does not own a caricature or a tattoo or a baby and does not have the right to shut down those who criticize him. Prince has pulled some bullshit before, but this takes the fucking cake. It's illegal. He has every right to ask that youtube or housequake or wherever else not post copyrighted images or videos. He has no right to demand the removal of everything online that might be a tinge lilac.

meow85 said:

lol youre a big fan of ignorance arnt you! Youre a big fan of stupidity arnt you

You sit on your ass while others work and put their money time and sweat and creative neck on the the line to produce something to entertain you, people earntheir money that way, writers, artists, producers, software engeneers on and on, THAT IS the point not dancing youtube baby, its protecting YOU and YOUR WORK you [Name calling snip - luv4u]
[Edited 11/6/07 5:57am]

why get mad about this, we are fams, we know the truth... When I was going to his concerts about 5 years I felt much love from prince and during the last 5 years I witnessed how much he actually appreciate and loves his fams. Prince you go boy... You are wonderful and this person doesn't speak for the entire fam group.
[Edited 11/6/07 6:27am]

sosgemini said:

I completely agree with this view.

These things are clearly not illegal - although this wouldn't be the first time someone has taken something crazy to court just to make a point by taking an argument to the extreme, I'm thinking about that movie about the guy who sued God when his insurance wouldn't pay out for 'acts of God'. I appreciate that sometimes you have to highlight the potential (completely ridiculous) outcomes when arguing points of law (there's a lot of this evident in human rights cases where people are trying to show you what COULD happen if the law is not upheld rigidly and/or if particular acts are passed). In a way I think Prince's people are doing this here with no expectation of actually succeeding in some of the crazier demands, it's more just a way of highlighting the extent to which an artist's I.P. can be reused.

But it's also a completely barking way to treat the people who keep you in a job when you start attacking fan sites!

Yes I know this is a borderline 'emotional' response for those of you who think we should just view Prince as a businessman, but seriously from the business point of view it just doesn't make sense to destroy your own market. Just reading through this thread you can see there are enough people who feel offended by it to start damaging his business.

Really I'm fascinated to know how personally involved Prince is in this process, and to what extent he's just briefed a team of lawyers to do whatever they think they need to do to make his point. I thought the message on 3121 last week thanking HQ for taking down the video clip was so much nicer in tone as a way to handle this issue with fansites - it's quite a clash compared to the heavy handed stuff we're seeing on PFU. What I wouldn't give for a chance to ask him - c'mon surely someone here on the Org has a contact direct to the horse's mouth??!!

violetblues said:

Oh please If it wasn't for the fans who go out and *BUY* the artist's music,where would they be?! If it wasn't for us fans,Prince would still be back in Minneapolis,a struggling musician playing in some bar band.It's a two-way street.

It's never a good idea to go after the people who pay your bills.

Am I going to be in trouble because I have his name tattooed on my ASS???? He should be thankful that some of us still follow him around like puppies (ie checking prince.org daily hoping that he might have farted our way)!

Anxiety said:

What makes a man want 2 rule the world?
Make him man enough to say he's 50-50 girl??



Oh, wait-- are we still allowed to quote his lyrics???

violetblues said:

1. apparently prince cares about youtube babies, tattoos and the prince posters in my house. does that make him a whiny little twerp too? heh.

2. who's crying about not getting free shit? i spent good money on my posters and memorabilia. i'd imagine most folks who got symbol tattoos did not get their ink for free. some people JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO SHOW THEIR ARM IN A PHOTOGRAPH WITHOUT GETTING SUED.

C. i love when people post repeatedly to a thread about how everyone ELSE needs to get a life - it's the cutest thing ever.

I think it is pretty obvious. Prince is trying to put the org, housequake etc. out of business so that his wholly owned sites will be the only source of all things prince. It is strictly a squeeze play.

2funkE said:

shame his sites don't satisfy the same demands as the independent fan sites, and a prince-owned site never will because his skin's not thick enough for the range of discussions found on independent fan sites.

violetblues said:

no, we do get it. despite the mob action that's fueling the clamor for prince's blood...

here's the thing. no one knows the actual content of the 'cease and desist' letters. from what we are being told by the website's owners, prince wants the removal of all of his images from this site, period. they are futher seeking to 'mediate' the way in which prince is referred to in open discussions.

what we do know is that the owner of this site has always been very mindful of copyright law. he has abided by the terms and conditions thereof; see, the disclaimers and warnings posted all over this site.

now, do you recall when prince's bodyguards stole the camera from someone who took prince's picture in an airport? do YOU understand why stealing the guy's camera was not legal?

1) prince is a public figure. he cannot protect his image the same way that private citizens can; and 2) when ANY person is in a public place, their right to privacy is very, very limited. so, fan pictures of prince that were taken legitimately are not subject to the limitations that prince is seeking to impose. images of prince that were legitimately obtained and posted are not subject to the limits that prince is seeking to impose.

prince and his attorneys are 'seeking to mediate' how prince is referred to.

that is simply not legally enforceable. free speech means the right to express one's personal opinions out loud, in print, or otherwise even when that expression offends someone else. this is why the KKK is allowed to demonstrate in public.

so it is a losing battle that is being fought against this website and will ultimately harm prince for more than help him. the sad thing is that he doesn't seem to care anymore.


[Edited 11/6/07 7:53am]

violetblues said:

Jatrig said:

No, you don't have to talk down to any crowd -- but you do have to have the ability to question the law Prince is supposedly enforcing. First, it isn't at all clear that it "is the law" that a fan site can't have pictures of fan's prince tatoos or license plates. There is a thing called "fair use" and copyright law does have broad exceptions. So not until a judge or jury decides these particular circumstances, can you purport to say "it's the law."

Second, if "the law" does end up siding w/ prince - it shows how completely off-scope copyright law has become. Corporations (and wealthy individuals) have hijacked copyright law, lobbied congress, and created a scheme that prevents and hinders creative output; completely contrary to the intention of the framers of our constitution who envisioned copyright law as a way to incentivize the arts.

Prince isn't losing any money from having people post there personal pictures of Prince memorabilia. Yes, selling bootlegs is one thing -- posting lyrics is quite another.


So please....don't talk down to us....but also be sure you know what "the law" is before you go assuming someone is breaking it; and have the intellectual wherewithall to question that law if it is unfairly enforced.