Prince - Prince Image Ban Story Was 'Exaggerated'

A company working on behalf of PRINCE has accused fans of exaggerating a story which claims the singer has ordered them to remove any image that bears his likeness from their websites. The singer's record company has hired internet monitoring company Web Sheriff to protect the Purple Rain star from internet copyright infringement - and they insist the fan sites have made the situation sound a lot worse than it actually is. The pop superstar angered many of his supporters after he was reported to have slapped an image ban on several high profile fan websites forbidding them to use any unauthorised pictures of him. The outraged websites joined forces to form Prince Fans United in protest and have vowed to fight any legal action. But Web Sheriff insist Prince himself has nothing to do with the lawsuit threat - it is the work of record label. Web Sheriff's managing director, John Giacobbi, says, "At no time is Prince suing his fans and this is not about freedom of speech. "The current issue is one between Prince's record label and three unofficial web sites and relates to the use of Prince trademarks and photographs, many of which are Prince's copyright."