Bertelsmann

New York, NY: (Apr-25-07) The Warner Music Group filed charges against German media giant, Bertelsmann, accusing it of contributing to widespread copyright infringement by supporting Napster, a file-sharing service. Bertelsmann provided Napster with about $85 million in loans starting in late 2000, a time when Napster had enabled millions of users to trade pirated songs online, causing a marked decrease in the sales of recorded music. Though Napster is now a licensed subscription service, it has been unable to reverse the slide in music sales. In a settlement reached with Warner, Bertelsmann admitted no liability, but agreed to pay $110 million to offset damages. This settlement follows a similar agreement with the EMI Group, the British music giant, where Bertelsmann also agreed to pay about $60 million to resolve claims against the sale of its music publishing unit. [NEW YORK TIMES: MUSIC INFRINGEMENT]

Legal Help

If you have a similar problem and would like to be contacted by a lawyer at no cost or obligation, please click the link below.
Published on Apr-26-07