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Universal Music Sues MySpace.com

Posted on: Friday, 17 November 2006, 21:00 CST

By ALEX VEIGA

LOS ANGELES - Universal Music Group on Friday sued MySpace.com, claiming the online social-networking hub illegally encourages its users to share music and music videos on the site without permission.

In the lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court, Universal Music contends MySpace, a unit of News Corp., attempts to shield itself from liability by requiring users agree to grant the Web site a license to publish the content they upload to the site. Users, however, have no such authority over works they don't own.

The Web site also "encourages, facilitates and participates in the unauthorized reproduction, adaptation, distribution and public performance," according to the suit.

In the complaint, Universal singles out features on the Web site that enable users to save copies of videos to their profile pages or share them with others on the site.

Universal Music, a unit of Paris-based Vivendi SA and the world's largest recording company, is home to recording artists such as U2, The Killers and Kanye West.

"Our music and videos play a key role in building the communities that have created hundreds of millions of dollars of value for the owners of MySpace," the company said in a statement. "Our goal is not to inhibit the creation of these communities, but to ensure that our rights and those of our artists are recognized."

In response to the lawsuit, MySpace issued a statement saying it is in full compliance with copyright laws and is confident it will prevail in court.

"We have been keeping UMG closely apprised of our industry-leading efforts to protect creators' rights, and it's unfortunate they decided to file this unnecessary and meritless litigation," the statement read. "We provide users with tools to share their own work - we do not induce, encourage, or condone copyright violation in any way."

In a speech in September, Universal Music CEO Doug Morris accused MySpace of violating copyright laws.

Last month, Universal Music filed separate lawsuits against online video-sharing sites run by Grouper Networks Inc. and Bolt Inc.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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