The My.MP3.com service was launched in January 2000. The company
built up a library of popular CDs, copied them onto a server
accessible from its web site, and invited subscribers to customise
and download the music files from any location. In an attempt to
avoid copyright infringement, subscribers were required to either
demonstrate that they already owned any of the CD albums from which
they wanted to download MP3 format tracks or purchase the CDs from
an on-line retailer co-operating with MP3.com.
District Judge Jed Rakoff has already ruled that the company
violated the copyrights of record companies by offering music
on-line without permission. This week’s case is for Judge Rakoff to
determine whether or not Robertson and other senior executives at
MP3.com knew that the service violated copyright law, which will
affect the level of damages awarded in the case.
Four of the five major record companies bringing the case have
settled with MP3.com since Rakoff’s initial ruling; only Universal
Music Group remains.
Robertson said that by making users of the service prove
ownership of CDs, it was a means of making sure there was
compensation for the copyright owners. He argued that careful
consideration and planning went into the system before it launched.
He demonstrated the system in court on Monday, including the site’s
copyright warning to consumers. Rakoff questioned whether users
would actually read what he described as a “boilerplate, five-page,
single-space legal agreement.”
If Universal convinces Rakoff that Robertson and others knew the
service was infringing copyright, MP3.com could face fines of
$150,000 per violation. If this cannot be shown, the company could
still face fines of between $750 and $30,000 per violation.
