Guitarist of legendary glam rock band Sweet, best known for their 1973 hits Block Buster! and The Ballroom Blitz, Andy Scott has failed in his bid to sue Austrian eBay user Dietmar Huber for selling a used Sweet CD through the online service, with the artist likely to face legal costs close to $80,000.
As Pollstar reports, the five-year legal skirmish began when Scott first accused Huber of possessing a bootleg copy of Sweet’s 1997 compilation album The Legend Lives On, subsequently attempting to sue the Austrian resident for selling the CD, filing an injunction to prevent sale of the used disc.
Scott demanded $45,000 in compensation, saying that he owned the copyright on the material and that Huber did not have the right to sell the album. Huber claimed he was “flabbergasted” when he received a letter from Scott’s lawyer, accusing him of a breach of copyright and billing him $2,500.
The case reached the Austrian High Court, who ruled in favour of Huber, claiming his sale of the used CD, which amounted to one euro, or approximately $1.25, was a private sale, leaving Scott to foot the bill for the hearing and Huber’s legal expenses, estimated by Classic Rock to be $78,000.
(Via Pollstar)
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