Eric Clapton Wins Case Against $11 Bootleg CD

Eric Clapton wins a lawsuit against a German widow who tried to sell a bootlegged copy of one of his concerts on eBay. The woman known as Gabriele P. listed a pirated version of Clapton’s Live USA album for 9.95 euros, or about $11.20 according to Deutsche Welle.

However, Gabriele claims she was unaware that the CD was pirated and removed the listing a day after posting it. She insisted she didn’t know she was violating a copyright law because to her knowledge the recording was taken at a Clapton concert in the ‘80s and had been purchased by her late husband in 1987 at a well-known department store.

Clapton didn’t appear in court for the case, but he did send an affidavit confirming that the recording was illegal. In the end, Clapton’s legal team won. A judge in Dusseldorf, Germany sided with the artist on December 15 and said that the fact Gabriele didn’t acquire the CD herself was irrelevant and ordered her to pay for copyright infringement with €3,400, which translates to about $4,000.

The court also ruled if she continues to offer the recording for sale she could face a fine of €250,000 or six months in prison. Clapton’s manager, Michael Eaton, told The Guardian,

“Germany is a country where sales of bootleg and counterfeit CDs are rife, which damages the industry and customers with poor quality and misleading recordings.”