NEW YORK, April 14 (UPI) -- A New York judge has said musician Prince must pay $3.95 million to perfume company Revelations for failing to promote scents inspired by the pop star.
Revelations Perfume and Cosmetics sued Prince in 2008 for failing to fulfill an agreement regarding his involvement in the 3121 line of scents inspired by his 2006 album of the same name, The Hollywood Reporter said Friday.
The New York Supreme Court judge Friday accepted Revelations' estimation of actual damages, but refused to award punitive or profit loss damages because he said Prince was not acting out of malice.
Prince argued that the day after Revelations signed the licensing deal with Universal Music on Dec. 2, 2006, he told the perfume makers he did not want his image on the press release, nor would he give interviews for the launch party, the Reporter said. He said the company should have known not to rely on his participation when it made the decision to spend millions on the products.
The judge, whose name was not reported, didn't buy Prince's argument.
"The fraud committed by the Prince defendants was not fully manifest on Dec. 2, 2006, and the Prince defendants continued to send mixed messages to Revelations regarding Prince's commitment to promoting the fragrance. For example, it was not until January 2007, when [Revelations' top executive] met again with Prince, that Prince informed him that he did not want his name to appear on the fragrance bottle or carton," the judge said.
Prince's attorney said he will appeal the ruling.
