By Stevie Smith May 16, 2007, 15:00 GMT
A change is as a good as a rest, or so they say, so it’s somewhat surprising to report today on a copyright infringement case that, for once, doesn’t involve Google Inc.’s popular video-sharing Web site YouTube. More specifically, it falls to Warner Music Group Corp. to dole out the legal punishment this time around, with its target being Imeem Inc., a music-based social networking site.
The lawsuit in question, which was filed by Warner Music through the U.S. District Court, Central District of California, points accusatory fingers at Imeem Inc. for amassing an active user base of 16 million people on the back of “illegal use of ‘free music,’” including Warner Music artists such as Green Day, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Madonna.
According to a Reuters news agency report, California-based Imeem’s contentious service sees its users crafting profiles before connecting up with one another via the uploading of MP3 playlists, which they then share openly throughout the community.
In Imeem’s defense, however, it does strive to deliver a copyright warning to its users during the upload procedure, outlining that media uploads of material not directly owned by the user are in direct violation of artist copyright and an illegal practice.
However, that seemingly ineffectual legal outline is apparently not deterring Imeem’s users from uploading plenty of copyrighted content – much like on YouTube – and Warner Music would appear to be less than impressed with the Web site’s lightweight warning. Indeed, the media giant has stated that: “Imeem is no innocent infringer,” in the matter, and that it actively invites “millions of users to flock to its website to copy, adapt, distribute, and perform unlicensed sound recording and music videos.”
Warner Music, which exists as the fourth-largest music group on the planet, has gathered evidence for the lawsuit that showcases literally thousands of playback instances connected to the work of its artists throughout Imeem. And, if the courts find in Warner Music’s favour, it could be seriously bad news for Imeem, which ironically is the fourth-largest entertainment media site in the United States, as it is now facing a potential $150,000 USD in damages for each copyrighted work infringed through its service.
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