Three weeks after MP3.com Inc. settled copyright suits with Warner Brothers Records and BMG Music, MP3Board Inc. find itself as the center of a legal dispute.
A copyright infringement lawsuit was filed Friday seeking to prevent MP3Board from linking users to what the suit termed “pirated music.” Plaintiffs in the suit include Arista Records Inc., Atlantic Recording Corp., BMG Music, Capitol Records Inc., Elektra Entertainment Group Inc., Motown Record Co. LP, Sony Music Entertainment, Virgin Records America Inc. and Warner Brothers.
The filing charges the company with posts links to thousands of “pirate” copies of the plaintiffs’ copyright-protected sound recordings, which users can download at no cost. The site is accused of serving as a “centralized and leading resource for pirates seeking illegal copies of virtually any recording.”
The move is the latest legal maneuver in a series of developments crowding the future of MP3 music distributed over the Internet. MP3.com is in the midst of a battle with the Recording Industry Association of America. However, the company did recently reach agreements with Warner and BMG to carry their content.
