Vivendi Universal’s music division is being sued by US
technology company DownloadCard over alleged infringement of
proprietary technology and theft of trade secrets. The lawsuit,
filed in a district court in Manhattan, followed the label’s
promotion of Bon Jovi’s new album, “Bounce,” each copy of which
includes a unique PIN code.
The Personal Identification Number (PIN) attached to the CD
allows purchasers to register on Bon Jovi’s web site and chat with
members of the band or receive special content and offers by
e-mail.
According to Associated Press and Launch.com reports,
DownloadCard, which provides anti-piracy services, alleges that it
wrote the software that enables the user to access to the special
content via the PIN number and that Universal Music has already
used it in over 12 promotions, recognising that it was
DownloadCard’s “protected intellectual property. “
DownloadCard said that it had created and offered to Universal a
solution designed for the “Bounce” promotion, and that the two
companies were in discussions for several months. According to the
lawsuit, however, Universal copied the system and used it to print
millions of copies of the new album without authorisation.
In the lawsuit, DownloadCard is seeking more than $750,000 in
damages in addition to halting the promotion programme.
Universal Music has not yet made any comment.
