Universal Sues MySpace

from AP

Universal Music Group has sued MySpace.com, claiming the online social-networking hub illegally encourages its users to share music and music videos on the site without permission.
The recording company is seeking unspecified damages, including up to $150,000 for each unauthorized music video or song posted on the Web site. The lawsuit is the latest legal salvo in a wider conflict between established media against Internet companies whose technology is challenging the traditional ways music, video and other content are distributed and consumed.

In its complaint, filed in U.S. District Court, Universal Music contends MySpace, a unit of News Corp., attempts to shield itself from liability by requiring users agree to grant the Web site a license to publish the content they upload to the site. Users, however, have no such authority over works they don't own. The Web site also "encourages, facilitates and participates in the unauthorized reproduction, adaptation, distribution and public performance," according to the suit.

Universal contends that much of the media posted by users of MySpace is not user-generated at all, but actually music and videos stolen from copyright owners. MySpace issued a statement saying it is in full compliance with copyright laws and is confident it will prevail in court. In the complaint, Universal singles out features on the Web site that enable users to save copies of videos to their profile pages or share them with others on the site. Universal Music also claims the MySpace Video and MySpace Music services also enable users to access copyright material without permission.

MySpace is currently testing technology aimed at enabling content owners to flag videos on the site that they find contain unauthorized copyrighted material. The flagged content is then removed by MySpace. The company expects to roll out the feature in a few weeks. Currently, MySpace takes down content from its users' pages when it receives a notice from a copyright holder.