As it prepares to release Prince’s posthumous album, the artist’s estate is taking legal action against a group of so-called bootleggers.
According to TMZ, the estate is suing Eye Records for illegally releasing 18 Prince compilations since his 2016 death. Court documents describe Eye Records as a “bootleg label dedicated” to the Purple One. The company is accused of pedaling the unofficial music through a password-protected website newlovesigne.com.
The collection of bootleg material includes a mix of live records and unreleased studio records dating back to 2007.
“There was nothing more important to Prince than the quality of his music and how his fans experienced it. With this filing, our hope is to preserve the integrity of the music and remain true to Prince's wishes,” a representative for the estate told TMZ, before sending a warning to other would-be bootleggers. “The Prince Estate will prosecute to the fullest extent of the law all unlawful distributors and sources of Prince's intellectual property.”
The plaintiffs are suing Eye Records as well as the individuals who are allegedly involved with the scheme for monetary damages—$2 million of which is for alleged trademark violations.
