MP3.com Sued Over Copyright

MP3.com, the most popular place to download music over the Internet, is being sued by the group representing recording artists for violations of copyright laws. Recording Industry Association of America President and CEO Hilary Rosen wrote to MP3.com CEO Michael Robertson on Friday [January 21, 2000] saying that the RIAA is suing his company. Rosen charges that Robertson would not discuss copyright infringements that result by compiling an archive of music they don't own. ""As we have discussed, your company's violation of the copyright law is brazen on its face,"" Rosen wrote. ""Simply put, it is not legal to compile a vast database of our members' sound recordings with no permission or license."" The lawsuit, filed in New York federal court, particularly targets two new services from MP3.com: Instant Listening Service and Beam-it. The RIAA charges that the services allow the public to access an archive of popular music that is not owned by MP3.com.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter