Led Zeppelin, The Doors, Santana join forces in licensing lawsuit
Carlos Santana and members of Led Zeppelin, the Doors, and the Grateful Dead have teamed up in a lawsuit to stop a website from infringing on their intellectual property. They filed yesterday (Monday, December 18th) in U.S. District Court in San Francisco against William Sagan, who through his wolfgangsvault.com website, has been selling reproductions of material from the personal collection of the late concert promoter and manager Bill Graham, as well as streaming live concerts from Graham's Winterland and Fillmores East and West venues.
Grateful Dead singer-guitarist Bob Weir said, "We have never given permission for our images and material to be used in this way. What Sagan is doing is stealing. He is stealing what is most important to us -- our work, our images, and our music -- and is profiting from the good will of our fans."
Carlos Santana said, "Bill Graham was a man of great integrity who cared very deeply about the artists he worked with as a manager and promoter. Bill was a close friend to me and the Santana Band for many years, and I know that what Sagan is doing would go against everything he believed in. I am fully committed to joining with other artists to protect our work, our rights, and our legacy."
Sagan is accused of copying items -- including photos, concert posters, and backstage passes -- without the permission of the musicians, who claim the items were never meant to be sold. Attorney Jeff Reeves of the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher said, "Sagan simply doesn't have the legal rights to exploit and profit from the extraordinary success of these musicians. This memorabilia was created in the first place for the purposes of promoting concerts and as gifts for fans and concert crew. Graham himself did not have the right to sell, reproduce, or otherwise exploit these materials as a promoter, and neither does Sagan, who was not authorized to purchase these materials, and who has absolutely no connection to the artists or their music."
Submit the above story to:
Del.icio.us
Digg
reddit
StumbleUpon
Facebook
Grateful Dead singer-guitarist Bob Weir said, "We have never given permission for our images and material to be used in this way. What Sagan is doing is stealing. He is stealing what is most important to us -- our work, our images, and our music -- and is profiting from the good will of our fans."
Carlos Santana said, "Bill Graham was a man of great integrity who cared very deeply about the artists he worked with as a manager and promoter. Bill was a close friend to me and the Santana Band for many years, and I know that what Sagan is doing would go against everything he believed in. I am fully committed to joining with other artists to protect our work, our rights, and our legacy."
Sagan is accused of copying items -- including photos, concert posters, and backstage passes -- without the permission of the musicians, who claim the items were never meant to be sold. Attorney Jeff Reeves of the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher said, "Sagan simply doesn't have the legal rights to exploit and profit from the extraordinary success of these musicians. This memorabilia was created in the first place for the purposes of promoting concerts and as gifts for fans and concert crew. Graham himself did not have the right to sell, reproduce, or otherwise exploit these materials as a promoter, and neither does Sagan, who was not authorized to purchase these materials, and who has absolutely no connection to the artists or their music."
Submit the above story to:
Del.icio.us
Digg
reddit
StumbleUpon
Facebook
The Rock Radio online