In their 18-page response filing at the US District Court for Northern Californian earlier this month, not once did Universal Music say why they forced YouTube to remove Megaupload’s Mega Song. Since that’s what the dispute between the two companies is all about, that was a pretty strange event. In a new filing, Megaupload makes it clear that it isn’t going to be brushed aside. The cyberlocker wants answers, and it will dig deep to get them.
As both sides in the forthcoming Universal Music versus Grooveshark copyright infringement lawsuit prepare to do battle, a warning shot has been sounded across the bows of the currently anonymous individual whose comments set off the legal chain reaction. The alleged Grooveshark whistleblower could be unmasked following a request not from Universal, but from Grooveshark’s legal team.
In a quite astonishing lawsuit, Universal Music could be demanding hundreds of millions in damages from Grooveshark’s music streaming service. Claims in the lawsuit lay waste to Grooveshark’s insistence that they enjoy ‘safe harbor’ under the DMCA, stating categorically that bosses and other workers at the company, from the CEO down, personally uploaded many thousands of infringing tracks to the service.
Was the Digital Economy Act always going to be implemented? The latest revelations in the Act’s complex two year history shows that it was always going to happen, and that public consultation on the matter was just a sham.
The UK Internet provider Virgin has struck a deal with Universal to offer their customers unlimited DRM-free music at a fixed monthly rate. As part of the deal Virgin committed to doing everything in their power to prevent people from sharing music on its network, including the option of disconnecting persistent offenders.
Up until today, the ‘Big Four’ record labels were taking legal action against Ireland’s biggest ISP, Eircom, in order to force it to employ filtering technology to stop online pirates. The case has been aborted as Eircom, at the behest of the music industry, has agreed to start disconnecting those accused of illicit file-sharing.
After originally threatening to leave, London-based EMI Records has confirmed it will remain a member of the IFPI. With its self-imposed deadline of March 31st 2008 looming, the company has struck a deal so that EMI – together with other members – will now contribute less to anti-piracy activities.
