Photo: WENN.com
Sony are in the process suing a 47-year-old Swedish music fan for leaking an early version of Beyonce's fourth studio album, 4 which was released on 24 June 2011.
According to Torrentfreak, The unnamed man from Gothenburg shared a copy of the album on 8 June 2011 and is believed to work in the music industry.
Sony have submitted the case to Gothernburg District Court and claim that the leak had a negative affect on their marketing strategy, sales revenues and their relationship with Beyonce as they feel her reputation had been damaged by the incident.
The music fan could have to pay out $233,000 in damages to Sony as part of the settlement.
Beyonce's fourth album was leaked by a Swedish music fan
The punishments of piracy are often heavy fines and this won't be the first time Sony have had to deal with such issues. Two hackers were charged with stealing music from the company earlier this year and given six month suspended sentences as well as 100 hours of community service.
Beyonce will be hoping her forthcoming album isn't leaked as she is set to embark on a sold out tour in support of her next record. The singer will be playing a string of UK and Ireland dates throughout April and May. Tickets for The Mrs Carter Show tour were sold out in less than 15 minutes after going on sale last Friday (February 23).
Beyonce's UK and Ireland tour dates are as follows:
Fri 26 Apr 2013 - LG Arena, Birmingham
Sat 27 Apr 2013 - LG Arena, Birmingham
Mon 29 Apr 2013 - The O2 arena, London
Tue 30 Apr 2013 - The O2 arena, London
Wed 01 May 2013 - The O2 arena, London
Fri 03 May 2013 - The O2 arena, London
Sat 04 May 2013 - The O2 arena, London
Sun 05 May 2013 - The O2 arena, London
Tue 07 May 2013 - Manchester Arena, Manchester
Wed 08 May 2013 - Manchester Arena, Manchester
Thu 09 May 2013 - Manchester Arena, Manchester
Sat 11 May 2013 - The O2, Dublin
Sun 12 May 2013 - The O2, Dublin
Below: How much for Beyonce? Private appearance fees of the stars
