Time for MP3.com to pay the piper By Steven Musil; CNET News.com A federal judge ruled MP3.com willfully infringed the copyrights of Seagram's Universal Music Group, opening the company to enormous potential damages in one of the first trials to address the legal boundaries of Internet music distribution. The presiding judge said the online music company must pay $25,000 per violation stemming from its My.MP3.com "music locker" service. MP3.com estimated during the trial that 4,700 CDs covered by Universal's copyrights were stored on its database, possibly exposing the company to damages of $118 million. However, the actual number of CDs that were copied--and therefore the amount of damages--has not been determined. The company's chief executive, Michael Robertson, said the My.MP3.com service will be turned on sometime in the next few weeks, giving members access to music stored on the company's computers in San Diego. To access their music over the Internet, members must first prove they paid for a recording by briefly inserting the CD into a computer's CD-ROM drive. Song-swapping company Napster, embroiled in a landmark copyright lawsuit with the recording industry, tried to distance itself from a federal judge's strong ruling against MP3.com. "We believe (the judge's) decision on the MP3.com case is both factually and legally distinct from the Napster case," a Napster lawyer said. But that hasn't eased Napster's legal turmoil. The attorney representing Metallica and rap star Dr. Dre in their lawsuits against Napster is sending a barrage of letters to top universities, pushing them to block students from using the popular file-swapping software. The letters don't explicitly threaten a lawsuit against the universities. But they do include a copy of the groups' lawsuit against Napster, which contains a generic placeholder for adding new universities into the legal crosshairs. A pseudonymous hacker has launched a Web graffiti spree, defacing Web sites ranging from NASA to the Communications Workers of America with a pro-Napster message. The hacker, who goes by the name "Pimpshiz," claimed 50 victim sites in a posting that included a screen lambasting the recording industry for its lawsuit against Napster. Microsoft is boosting music offerings on its Microsoft Network with the acquisition of MongoMusic, a site with advanced music-searching capabilities. The software giant will spend about $65 million in an all-stock transaction for the start-up and its search technology. With song-swapping companies Napster, MP3.com and Scour mired in copyright lawsuits, file-sharing entrepreneurs may start singing the blues when it comes to landing venture capital funding. The outcomes could unleash a flood of VC money--or slow it to a trickle. Many experts are bracing for judges to rule against the file-swapping companies, causing venture funding to dry up for other players in the risky niche. --- Sponsor's Message -------------------------------------- Wanna Throw That PC Out the Window? Not yet. First, check our technology forum for help. http://click.topica.com/aaaa4Ob1dhr0b1uN1Ic/rebootmypc ------------------------------------------------------------ --via http://techPolice.com archive: http://theMezz.com/cybercrime/archive unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] url: http://theMezz.com/alerts ____________________________________________________________ T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less. Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose. http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
