EMI has agreed a settlement with MP3.com which it had sued for
copyright infringement. In terms of the settlement, MP3.com will be
allowed to store copies of EMI copyright protected music on the
my.mp3.com web site, available for users to download the MP3
files.28 Jul 2000
The agreement has been made following a federal court ruling that MP3.com was infringing EMI’s copyright by offering internet users software that enables them to share music free of charge via its my.mp3.com web site.
The new arrangement is expected to involve MP3.com paying a fee to EMI every time a user registers or accesses EMI music, including works by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Frank Sinatra. MP3.com may also be ordered to pay damages of up to $20 million following a court hearing to be held in late August.
This news comes in the wake of the preliminary injunction that will close down music swapping web site Napster at midnight tonight, or 8am Saturday, BST.
The immediate effect of that decision has been strongly felt by Gnutella and other web sites offering similar services. Gnutella reported a massive influx of traffic which forced it to temporarily take its servers off-line yesterday.