A Berlin court has granted U.S. rock singer Prince an injunction to halt the distribution of a DVD bootleg, entitled “Prince And The Revolution – The Homecoming,” of a 1983 concert. This decision is significant as it represents the first time a court in Germany, which had banned only bootleg CDs before now, decided to block the sale of a DVD bootleg.
The details of the groundbreaking ruling at the Berlin Higher Court (Landgericht) were revealed in June but disclosed last Friday (July 21) by Prince’s lawyer Martin Diesbach.
The judge ruled that the Berlin-based distribution company Falcon in Wittenburg is banned from manufacturing and distributing further copies of the illegal DVD. Furthermore, it must destroy all existing copies.
The court stated in its decision that Falcon’s distribution violates German copyright law, international treaties and Prince’s moral rights as the DVD is based on an amateur recording of the original 1983 gig.
“The sound and the pictures are of such a poor quality, it is extremely damaging to the artist’s image,” said the judge. According to the court, a DVD of such inferior quality would not sell even if it had been sanctioned by the artist Prince.
Prince’s legal representative Martin Diesbach, a partner of Munich law firm Nörr, Stiefenhofer and Lutz, said it still is not clear whether the defendant will appeal against the court’s decision.
