Luke Combs Fan’s Unfortunate Encounter with Copyright Law

As reported by Delaware Online, country singer, Luke Combs, made headlines for being involved in a $250,000 copyright and counterfeit merchandise lawsuit against a fan. The fan, Nicol Harness, sold 18 tumblers with his image and made a total of $380 in sales.

Neither Combs nor the fan was initially aware of the lawsuit. Harness discovered an email sent from Luke Combs’s legal team in her junk folder only after her Amazon funds were frozen. As a result, she not only missed the deadline to respond, but a judgment had been issued ordering her to pay $250,000 to Combs.

Combs reportedly explained that he works with a company that sues large corporations that make millions of dollars from counterfeit merchandise. Combs's understanding was that this was not supposed to affect individuals. 

Combs reportedly apologized to the fan and offered to pay her $11,000, donate all proceeds to Harness from the sale of a tumbler on his official website and indicated that he intends to arrange for Harness and her family to attend a show to apologize in person.