The lead guitarist for the formerly popular beat combo The Sweet had a crack at being a copyright troll and failed dismally.
Andy Scott tried to sue an eBay customer for selling a used CD titled ‘The Legend Lives On’.
Scott thought that the item was a bootleg and promptly sued the seller, Dietmar Huber from western Austria. Scott demanded Huber pay $2,500 for breaching his copyright or go to court.
Unfortunately, Huber was miffed, as the CD was a legit second hand copy which he was only going to collect $1.20 for. He refused to take down the item so Scott filed an injunction to stop the sale.
The guitarist demanded $45,000 claiming he owned copyright on the name and that Dietmar Huber did not have the right to sell the CD. It is not clear what he was actually thinking about as he took the case to the Austrian high court.
After five years, the Austrian high court has ruled in favor of Huber, declaring it to be a private sale, and that no crime was ever committed.
Now Scott faces a “blockbuster” legal bill. Not only will he have to pony up for his own legal expenses he will have to foot the bill for the court hearing, along with Huber’s legal expenses.
That figure has been estimated at $78,000. It would have made more sense for Scott to buy the CD if it meant that much to him for $1.25.
Big Content has given up on suing customers in this way, as the publicity was never any good. However, Scott seemed to think it was necessary to launch his ballroom blitz on his own.
Source: TechEye
