<nettime> Record Labels Sue Again.

[Aldon Hynes <ahynes1@yahoo.com>]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The world's largest record companies sued a major
paper company and a Brazilian cell phone company on Friday, alleging their
products allow users to copy music.

The copyright infringement suit, filed in Manhattan federal court, seeks a
court order requiring the defendants to block the use of paper for writing
down lyrics and the use of cell phones for talking about how to write down
lyrics. The suit says the plaintiffs have not been able to determine who
does this, but they know it is happening.

Plaintiffs in the suit include such major labels as UMG Recordings, a unit
of Vivendi Universal , Sony Music Entertainment, a unit of Sony Corp (
news - web sites) .; The RCA Records Label, a unit of Bertelsmann AG (
news - web sites)'s BMG; and Warner Brothers Records, a unit of AOL Time
Warner .

Defendants in the suit are Telesp Celular Participaciones S.A. (TCP) and
International Paper (IP). Lawyers for the plaintiffs are quoted as saying,
“We have heard that music pirates are using TCP/IP to get illegal copies
of music. We can only surmise that the music pirates are using paper from
International Paper, and placing calls on cell phones provided by Telesp
Celular Participaciones to make and distribute illegal copies of music.”

It is unclear if the suit will be expanded to include other paper and cell
phone companies.

According to the suit the artists whose works are being unlawfully copied
and distributed via the TCP/IP method are: Christina Aguilera, Barbara
Streisand, and Whitney Houston. Critics maintain that these artists have
never produced any music and the case is without merit. “The RIAA is a
bunch of whining losers, just like the musicians they support. No wonder
record sales have been plummeting.

 

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