Im sorry but this whole thing has blown way out of control, unofficial fan sites should not feature princes image, his music, lyrics or any other intellectual property which is Princes god given right to control.

We are all obeying the same universal laws and if someone uses your image without your permission wouldnt you be pissed off.

I know I am posting this on the org. an unofficial fansite but im sorry you must afford prince the same courtesy you would expect other sites to afford you.

Lets all put housequake and prince.org symbols across our websites and bebo profiles and rename all of our sites in the respective names and see how quickly the unofficial fan sites get pissed off.

This rubbish about images is a smokescreen, it's the first salvo in what Prince's ultimate aim is...control, full and absolute.

He has always wanted and sought total control over everything, every aspect of his life is tightly regimented and controlled, from his music to his band and his private life.

This current crop of BS is a recurring motif with Prince, he wants to control what is said about him on these websites, anything negative is deemed unacceptable and must be stopped.

Is this Prince?

This sounds like something he would say.

Its not about control, its not about negativity, its about legal rights!

FunkyBrotha said:

If you want to talk "legal rights"...Prince doesn't own the rights to a lot of the photographs that are displayed on this and other fan sites...including album covers. It's not that I don't agree with some of the things he is fighting for, I just don't agree with how he's going about it. It's like he's disrespecting his true die-hard fans. Come on, to say that I can't display a pic of my "" tattoo is too obsurd. So is sueing a kid for dancing to one of his songs in a video is way over the top.
[Edited 11/8/07 11:17am]
[Edited 11/8/07 11:17am]

Prince was all cool with us using his images on myspace when it was for posteres advertising his 21 nights in london.

Prince didnt agree to you posting pictures advertising 21 nights in London.

Also public airing of music without a license is illegal and sites such as YouTube should be liable under those laws.

The use of your image without your permission is also illegal when it is side by side with copyrighted material, copyright doesnt have to be enshrined in some document somewhere.

Im glad Prince is fighting for this, he is a pioneer and Im sure the European Intellectual Property Commission will be pleased he is putting up a fight on this one.

FunkyBrotha said:

you skipped over my question ..

I think you have misinterpreted something, everyone is free to discuss whatever they like, this is not an intellectual property issue

daPrettyman said:

But he does own the trademark image depicted in the photos, so there is a legal precedent for it, despite him not having the copyright on the image. Not saying its right or wrong, just pointing out how something as seemingly innocent as a photo of a tattoo might constitute an infringement.

It is absurd, but I am sure that's not what this is about. As a defence, people will often blow the proportion of the wording (paticularly something as meticulous as a legal document) to make the request seem unfair, agressive, whatever. I highly doubt there has been a specific request for photos of tattoos etc to be removed, just that the wording of the cease and desist order could be taken to mean that it would cover such images. So, what's being argued is principles and clarity over ambiguity - but that doesn't stop people jumping to conclusions here. Like your statement "sueing a kid for dancing to one of his songs in a video is way over the top." - no-one got sued!

In fact, NO-ONE has yet been sued. The THREAT has been implied, but only as what would be the logical answer as to the conclusion of what would happen should those who have been asked to comply with his requests not do so.

finally .. someone with some understanding.

Peace

None of you get it...you're not "fan" enough and been around enough to fully understand the background to all this.

FunkyBrotha said:

You ain't looking in the mirror then!

FunkyBrotha said:

you obviously dont know the other part of Prince's complaint lol.. other than his image.. (which is the part i said.. you left out)

Flowerz said:

Exactly, his original complaint wanted the websites to remove any negative discussing of him, Prince dosen't like freedom of speech it seems.

I also have a right to post images of my own tattoo's...so put that in ure pipe and smoke it

FunkyBrotha said:

Thank you for your juvenile and incomplete take on the situation, which amounts to "I love Prince, so leave him alone." The copyrighted videos, pics, audio clips is a no-brainer. All of us realize that Prince has every right to demand that these items be removed.

But, your comment that "im sorry you must afford Prince the same courtesy you would expect other sites to afford you" is misguided. The fact is that from a legal perspective, Prince really isn't affored the same courtesy as everyone else. As a public figure, his privacy rights are somewhat altered, and his ability to demand that his non-copyrighted images be removed is limited. This is not to say that he has no rights as to privacy and/or to non-copyrighted images, but it's simply not the same as with you or me.

People can take a picture of Prince at a concert, post that picture and then state online that "the concert was great, but Planet Earth sucked," or "The concert was horrible and Prince looked like sh*t" (though, I haven't run across many dissatisfied Prince concertgoers, so that's just an example).

These unofficial sites do cross the line sometimes, but your blanket defense of Prince without looking at the specifics of each and every post and/or image, makes me think that you should be working for Prince at this moment.
[Edited 11/8/07 12:25pm]

Mindflux said:

Does he? I though he couldn't get it bacuause of it's similarity to the sign for soapstone?

Regardless, he distributed it into the free market for use as him name, for public use. He even sent the font out for us to use!

coltrane3 said:

what he said....and what was said about the control stuff.....

Everytime I post people say 'i must work for Prince'

This aint even relevant to the discussion or argument.

Prince would obviously request that any slanderous, libelous or untruthful comments on such sites should be removed just as they should and can be removed from other forms of media such as the tabloids. I think in this regard he is obviously looking for such comments to be monitored just as they are monitored thru other forms of media.

Also, privacy rights such as use of intellectual property and human rights such as a persons legal right to defend themselves from unlawful imputations, lies and mistruths on websites are afforded to Prince in exactly the same way as they are any other person, however, I do admit that his privacy whilst in the public eye, and by that I mean physically in the public eye is more limited (i.e. photographs of him in public etc).

These comments are not a defence of Prince as such, its irrelevant to whether its Prince or anyone else, but everyone in a democracy should have the right to protect their private image, name, identity and protect themselves from libel, slander and even gossip/lies/untruths. Surely y'all must agree with this.

FunkyBrotha said:

That really isn't true FunkyBrotha....Defamation of character is as serious as any other lawsuit can be....especially when it has an International medium, that could be counterproductive.

um defamation of character isnt a copyright issue, just as i stated

I don't really know about the other sites, by all the mods here lock gossip threads about Prince, and I believe this site makes no money on his image, the mods are here on a volunteer basis, vulgar images of Prince are not posted here. Bootlegs aren't sold here.

What content on this site misrepresents Prince? Prince markets himself as a sex symbol and publicly flaunts his sexual prowess, by sporting pretty ladies at his side where ever he is seen.

Why do people post pictures of him in the first place? Because they think he's sexy....why do they think Prince is sexy?

If Prince wants his image to not be circulated as much as it is, then he should change his image and many fans will change their view of him and lose interest in his "sexy" looks. Problem solved.

Don't you think if these sites go down that people will just make others?

FunkyBrotha said:

coltrane3 said:

I lost my reply when I got logged off. I'll have to post later.

I read this thread and I had to post. "...everyone in a democracy should have the right to protect their private image, name, identity and protect themselves from libel, slander and even gossip/lies/untruths. Surely y'all must agree with this." Of course I agree with you FunkyBrotha but someone saying "I think Prince sucks" or any statement remotely close to this is not libel, slander, gossip, lies or untruths. I love Prince just as much as the next person but I have to say that I am hurt and confused by some of Prince's requests of the fansites. These sites are places for the people who like Prince to share their opinions and stories with others who share their same interest. Prince has no legal right to say that we can't express our opinions and views about him and his music. Of course he does have legal rights when it comes to his image BUT I can't understand why Prince would want to SO HEAVILY regulate his image that his fans can't even put up their own original artwork depicting him. It's a bit of a slap in the face to the people who have supported and love his genius and want nothing but the best for him.If Prince truly wants to do what he says he wants to do I will support him because I appreciate the great music he has given me but this does not mean that I have to like or agree with what he is doing.

chaosndisorder said:

I wonder - If Prince's people didn't throw the 'copyright' legal jargon around and instead said that due to his religious beliefs and his opposition to idol worshipp, the images are asked to be removed in good faith... would it have made a difference.

You people are acting like he killed your mother or something.
[Edited 11/8/07 15:19pm]

liberation said: