Universal Music Group Sues MySpace

MySpace Sued

UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court today (11/17) against MYSPACE, claiming the site encourages users to share music and music videos without permission.

According to the AP, the suit alleges that MYSPACE has "knowingly and intentionally operated its business on the fiction that it has obtained the licenses it needs to exist from members that MYSPACE well knows are not the true copyright owners" and that it "encourages, facilitates and participates in the unauthorized reproduction, adaptation, distribution and public performance" of music videos. 

Our goal is not to inhibit the creation of these communities, but to ensure that our rights and those of our artists are recognized.

UMG said in a statement, "Our music and videos play a key role in building the communities that have created hundreds of millions of dollars of value for the owners of MYSPACE. Our goal is not to inhibit the creation of these communities, but to ensure that our rights and those of our artists are recognized."

In response to the suit, MYSPACE issued this statement: "MYSPACE provides an extraordinary promotion platform for artists -- from major labels to independent acts -- while respecting their copyrights. We have been keeping UMG closely apprised of our industry-leading efforts to protect creators' rights, and it’s unfortunate they decided to file this unnecessary and meritless litigation. We provide users with tools to share their own work -- we do not induce, encourage, or condone copyright violation in any way.

"We are in full compliance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and have no doubt we will prevail in court. Moreover, we proactively take steps to filter unauthorized music sound recordings and have implemented audio fingerprinting technology. We will continue working to be the gold standard in protecting creators' rights as well as the world's leading lifestyle portal."

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