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Universal Music Sues Video-Sharing Companies
19-Oct-2006
Written by: Jeannine Coppola
The world’s largest record company claims ““mass infringement“ of copyright“.
According to BBC News, Universal Music, the world's biggest record firm, blames the online sites, Grouper and Bolt for violating copyright laws by allowing users to trade videos.
Universal, which owns the rights to works by U2 and Mariah Carey among many others, seeks up to $150,000 in damages for each video that is swapped on the websites without permission.
Aaron Cohen, Bolt's chief executive claims his site removes copyrighted material when notified. He states,"There's no question that people upload copyrighted content from time to time, and occasionally we receive official notices to remove content and we do."
Universal's case also suggests that Grouper has become "prominent" through it's exploitation of copyrighted videos. The record company points to an example search on Grouper's site, which yields several Mariah Carey videos able to be downloaded. Furthermore, her video for "Shake It Off" has apparently been viewed more than 50,000 times.
Grouper, which was bought by Sony Pictures in August for $65 million, states it retains the right to use Sony Pictures as a defendant in the future.
A Universal spokesman commented, "Grouper and Bolt cannot reasonably expect to build their business on the backs of our content without permission."
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