[Note: Eric’s website has further clarification.] By Tomas Mier, People | Last week, Eric Clapton, 76, won a lawsuit against a woman, known as Gabriele P., whom the musician sued after she posted a listing for a pirated version of his Eric Clapton – Live USA album for $11 on eBay, according to Deutsche Welle. Gabriele claims she was unaware that the CD was pirated and removed the listing a day after posting it.
Clapton’s legal team, however, stated that recordings were made illegally and without the rocker’s consent, to which the woman responded, “I object and ask you not to harass or contact me any further,” adding, “feel free to file a lawsuit if you insist on the demands,” The Guardian reported.
The woman appealed after a court ruled in favor of the singer explaining that her late husband had purchased the CD at a store. The judge said that the fact that she didn’t acquire the CD herself was irrelevant and ordered her to pay for both parties’ legal fees (about $3,900).
“Germany is a country where sales of bootleg and counterfeit CDs are rife, which damages the industry and customers with poor quality and misleading recordings,” Clapton’s manager Michael Eaton told The Guardian. “Along with a number of other major artists and record companies, over a number of years Eric Clapton has, through German lawyers, successfully pursued hundreds of bootleg cases in the German courts under routine German copyright procedures.”
Eaton added that the cost is “usually minimal” unless it goes to court, which it did in this case.
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If the woman tries to sell the CD again, she could face a fine of $282,000 or six months in prison. The woman’s attorney told a German newspaper they look forward to appealing the lawsuit again, according to Daily Mail.
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Read the full story here:
https://people.com/music/eric-clapton-wins-lawsuit-against-widow-who-sold-bootleg-cd/
[Our thanks to COMBO’s VP Annette Cannon for alerting us to this case.]
Eric Clapton Wins Lawsuit Against German Widow Who Tried to Sell Bootleg CD for $11 on eBay