Eric Clapton’s management said that the guitarist would not pursue the nearly $4,000 fine ordered against a German widow who attempted to sell a Clapton bootleg online.
Eric Clapton's management has released a "clarification" regarding the musician's lawsuit against a German widow after she posted a listing for a pirated version of his "Eric Clapton - Live USA" album for $11 on eBay.
The statement reads as follows: "Given the widespread and often misleading press reports about a recent bootleg case involving a woman in Germany, the following provides clarification to set the record straight.
"Germany is one of several countries where sales of unauthorized and usually poor-quality illegal bootleg CDs are rife, which harms both the industry and purchasers of inferior product. Over a period of more than 10 years the German lawyers appointed by Eric Clapton, and a significant number of other well-known artists and record companies, have successfully pursued thousands of bootleg cases under routine copyright procedures.
"This case could have been disposed of quickly at minimal cost, but unfortunately in response to the German lawyers' first standard letter, the individual's reply included the line (translation): 'feel free to file a lawsuit if you insist on the demands'. This triggered the next step in the standard legal procedures, and the Court then made the initial injunction order.
Last week a Düsseldorf court has sided with the famous rock musician. A German woman who had put up a single bootlegged CD of one of his concerts for €9.95 on eBay now has to pay €250,000 or six months in prison.
The decision was reached by the Düsseldorf regional court on Wednesday.(DW.com)
The injunction issued on behalf of best-selling guitarist Eric Clapton forbids a woman from the town of Ratingen near Düsseldorf from selling a bootlegged recording of one of his concerts from the 1980s online. Clapton sent the court an affidavit stating that the recordings were illegal.
The defendant claimed she did not know she was infringing copyright when she put the recording for sale for €9.95 ($11.20) online and appealed to the court. The 55-year old claimed her late-husband told her he had purchased it in 1987 at a well-known department store.
Yet the appeal was rejected. The judge ruled that it did not matter that she hadn't purchased the CD herself and did not know the recording was done illegally, as German tabloid Bild reported. The injunction requires the defendant to pay the legal fees of both parties, which total approximately €3,400, according to the media outlet. If she continues to offer the CD for sale she faces a fine of €250,000 or six months in prison.
RELATED Watch Eric Clapton’s Huge Guitars collection
On the plus side, shipping is free in the USA, and just $3.99 to the UK. Bargain.
Whatever this particular example eventually sells for, it’s unlikely any of Clapton’s guitars will match the record-breaking sum fetched by the legendary ‘Blackie’ Strat, which sold for $959,500 in 2004.
Eric Clapton auctioned one of two Fender Stratocasters that he played at last year’s Slowhand at 70 concert to pay the medical debts of a fellow musician.
The guitar sold for $45,000 on July 23 through Heritage Auctions in Dallas. The winning bid was made via telephone, and the bidder requested anonymity.
A portion of the proceeds will help Johnny Nicholas, a Texas guitarist who has worked with Asleep at the Wheel, pay off medical bills from his late wife’s treatment for leukemia. The money will also go to support leukemia research.
Nicholas worked with Asleep at the Wheel in 1978 when the band asked him to perform with them. He took time off from music in 1980 to raise a family with his wife, Brenda. The couple owned and managed the Hill Top Café roadside restaurant near Fredericksburg, Texas. Nicholas returned to recording in 1991 and has released several albums. His latest, The Golden Triangle: Swamp Blues, was issued on TopCat Records in 2012.
