Report: Sony And WMG To Join UMG Suit Of Grooveshark

Under Fire From Major Labels

In NOVEMBER (NET NEWS 11/21), UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP filed another copyright lawsuit against GROOVESHARK after it obtained e-mails and other records that show GROOVESHARK's leaders led an effort to post more than 100,000 pirated songs onto the music service.

Now, reports THE NEW YORK TIMES, SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT and WARNER MUSIC GROUP are preparing to join the suit. SONY and WARNER could file their suits later TODAY (12/15).

THE TIMES notes, "But while most of the major music companies are lining up against GROOVESHARK, the industry’s opposition is not unanimous. GROOVESHARK, whose parent company is the ESCAPE MEDIA GROUP of GAINESVILLE, FL, lets users upload songs that other listeners can stream. Its popularity has drawn major advertisers, including MERCEDES-BENZ. GROOVESHARK has said that its music service is legal under the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, the federal law that gives 'safe harbor' to companies that host third-party material on the Internet if they comply with takedown notices from copyright holders."

GROOVESHARK released this statement to THE TIMES, "We respect the intellectual property of all artists, and our strict policies are designed to ensure that our users only upload content to which they are entitled. This is a policy which we vigorously enforce within D.M.C.A. requirements."

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