Eric Clapton wins legal case against woman selling bootleg CD on eBay

She had listed a recording of an '80s Clapton concert for £8.45

Eric Clapton has won a legal case against a German woman who attempted to sell a bootleg CD of his on eBay.

As reported by DW, the defendant claimed she was unaware that she was committing copyright infringement by listing the album – an unauthorised recording of a Clapton concert from the 1980s – on the site for €9.95 (£8.45).

Clapton sent Düsseldorf regional court an affidavit stating that the recordings on the disc were illegal, which led to to the court’s initial decision in favour of the singer-songwriter. However, the woman appealed.

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The 55-year-old said that her late husband told her he had purchased the CD in 1987 at a well-known department store. Her appeal was rejected, with the judge ruling that it was irrelevant that she did not buy the album herself.

Eric Clapton
Eric Clapton. CREDIT: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images

The court has now asked the woman to pay the legal fees of both parties, which is around €3,400 in total (£2,889). If she continues to offer the CD for sale, she faces a fine of €250,000 (£212,353) or six months in prison.

The defendant’s lawyer, Klaus Günther, told German newspaper Bild: “We will appeal again.”

Meanwhile, Eric Clapton has faced backlash over the course of the COVID pandemic due to his anti-vaccine views and criticisms of lockdown measures. Back in August, he shared the apparent anti-vax protest song ‘This Has Gotta Stop’.

I can’t take this B.S. any longer/ It’s gone far enough/ You wanna claim my soul, you’ll have to come and break down this door,” Clapton sings on the track before touching on his “disastrous” reaction to the jab.

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