Updates to our Terms of Use

We are updating our Terms of Use. Please carefully review the updated Terms before proceeding to our website.

Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Song Owners Sue Over Free Online Access to Artists’ Hits

NASHVILLE (CN) - MCS Music America and a slew of song owners have accused Microsoft, RealNetworks and Yahoo! of allowing Internet users to stream and temporarily download copyrighted tunes without paying royalties.

A federal lawsuit claims the defendants offer songs by Grand Funk Railroad, Conway Twitty, The Carpenters and many other artists on the sites yahoomusic.com, rhapsody.com and zune.com. None of the sites asked for or received permission to use the tunes, the owners claim.

The sites purportedly give browsers the option of streaming the music online or downloading them during a free trial period. If users choose to subscribe, they pay a monthly fee to download an unlimited number of songs. The copyright owners are not paid for these transmissions, they claim.

MCS Music America does not directly own any copyrights, but is the licensing and copyright administrator for the owners.

Plaintiffs seek $150,000 per copyright violation and are represented by Stephen Grauberger of Grauberger, Pierce & Green in Mount Juliet, Tenn.

Categories / Uncategorized

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Loading...