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He gave away his last album free with a newspaper, but Prince has now taken a stance to defend the rights of the artist by launching a legal action against internet sites that he claims have infringed his copyright. The singer has announced he is taking the action to protect copyright “not just for himself, but for all artists in the digital age”. He wants, he says, to “reclaim his art on the internet”. In the first phase of his legal action, the musician will target a number of commercial and pirate internet sites including YouTube, eBay and PirateBay. It is alleged that these sites have infringed Prince’s copyright by failing to filter out unauthorised content. Source: The Independent

Prince has recently played to rave reviews at The O2 arena in London. Although fans were banned from taking photographs or video footage on their mobile phones, many have still posted clips on sites such as YouTube. The artist is also targeting eBay and other sites for selling unauthorised merchandise. Prince has instructed Web Sheriff, a company which specialises in tackling internet piracy and copyright infringement, on his behalf. Over the past few days, Web Sheriff has succeeded in removing more than 2,000 unauthorised Prince clips from YouTube, but Mr Giacobbi said: “As soon as they are taken down, more spring up the next day. The onus is on the artists as opposed to YouTube itself.”

Source: The Independent