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tenderfoot

(8,982 posts)
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 06:58 PM Dec 2021

Eric Clapton successfully sues 55-year-old German widow for listing bootleg CD on eBay for $11

that'll show her!

The woman – referred to in filings as Gabriele P. – will have to pay court costs for both herself and Clapton, reportedly totaling almost $4,000

A 55-year-old German widow – named in reports as Gabriele P. – has reportedly been mandated to pay for court costs for both herself and Eric Clapton, after the electric guitar player successfully sued her over the sale of a live bootleg CD on eBay.

According to the German newspaper Bild, the bootleg, Live USA, was purchased by the defendant's late husband at a department store more than 30 years ago. Gabriele then went on to list the album on eBay for €9.95 (~$11) in July, after which Clapton – citing the illegal nature of the album – sent the court an affidavit.

The Düsseldorf Regional Court ruled in Clapton's favor, and yesterday (December 15) rejected Gabriele P's appeal on the initial ruling, saying that the facts that she neither bought the CD herself initially nor knew, at the time she listed it on eBay, that it was a bootleg, were immaterial.

Gabriele P. now reportedly faces either a €250,000 fine or six-month prison sentence if she continues her efforts to sell the album.

https://www.guitarworld.com/news/eric-clapton-widow-bootleg-lawsuit

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Eric Clapton successfully sues 55-year-old German widow for listing bootleg CD on eBay for $11 (Original Post) tenderfoot Dec 2021 OP
Someone is turning out to be rather a disappointment. dchill Dec 2021 #1
I'm Not Wild About This Ruling Either ProfessorGAC Dec 2021 #2
I sounds like Woodswalker Dec 2021 #3
More than a bit - he's an enormous one. n/t Ron Green Dec 2021 #4
and you know he's an antivax jerk, right? NoRethugFriends Dec 2021 #5
According to other posts, she was asked to stop the sale by Claptons lawyers MichMan Dec 2021 #6

ProfessorGAC

(73,487 posts)
2. I'm Not Wild About This Ruling Either
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 07:10 PM
Dec 2021

There's no material harm to Clapton.
Seems to me the court could simply have forbidden the sale of the CD, or any copies.
Doesn't matter that it's German law. The point of law is to codify justice. There's no justice in punishing this woman.
I sure don't see how it's immaterial that she didn't buy the CD, nor that she didn't know it was in violation of copyright. Seems a silly lapse in logic by the courts.

MichMan

(15,390 posts)
6. According to other posts, she was asked to stop the sale by Claptons lawyers
Sun Dec 19, 2021, 08:18 PM
Dec 2021

Refused, and told them to go ahead and sue her. So they did.

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