Once considered on the cutting edge for his use of the Internet, Prince has become enemy #1 to some of his fans:

Fan sites dedicated to Prince say they have been served legal notice to remove all images of the singer, his lyrics and “anything linked to Prince’s likeness,” and have vowed to fight what they said was censorship.. by targeting fan sites directly, Prince risks a backlash, and the sites have vowed to unite under the banner “Prince Fans United” and take the matter to court if necessary.

“We strongly believe that such actions are in violation of … freedom of speech and should not be allowed,” said a statement from the three sites — www.housequake.com, www.princefams.com and www.prince.org.

I respect his right to protect his copyrights. But he is teetering on being just another old fart in a doo rag, and should tread lightly when dealing with folks actually promoting his music,

Read all about it on the web:

• Prince Has Lost the Plot, Prince to Sue A Lot
• Prince Threatens Fan Sites; Apparently He Doesn’t Get The Web As Much As We Thought
• Prince Fans United Protest Prince
• The Folks Formerly Known as Prince Fans