Court Orders LiveUniverse to Cease Operation of Four Unlicensed Lyric Sites
STATEMENT FROM: NMPA President and CEO David Israelite
RE: Court Orders LiveUniverse to Cease Operation of Four Unlicensed Lyric SitesFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 11, 2010
“The Court’s action is consistent with copyright law and precedent, and should serve as a reminder to web operators who attempt to profit from copyrighted works without a license. Such activity will not be tolerated. Licenses are available from multiple sources and the legal marketplace is thriving. There is simply no excuse to fail to license music content.”
BACKGROUND
Peermusic, Warner/Chappell and Bug Music filed action against LiveUniverse, Inc. and its owner Brad Greenspan in the Federal Court of the Central District of California in August 2009 for willful copyright infringement on a vast scale. The judge this week found the defendants in contempt of his May 24, 2010 preliminary injunction order to remove infringing material from LiveUniverse’s web sites. The contempt order requires shutdown of all LiveUniverse websites, including lyricsdownload.com, completealbumlyrics.com, lyricsandsongs.com, and allthelyrics.com, until all infringing material has been removed and such takedowns are verified with the Court. The judge ordered the takedowns to be completed within 48 hours or LiveUniverse and Greenspan may be subject to further contempt sanctions, including monetary sanctions of $100,000 for each website not timely disabled.
For the past three years, the NMPA has sent cease and desist notices to hundreds of illegal sites, providing multiple warnings and opportunities for the site operators to license the content and operate legally. These efforts have resulted in a reduction of illegal sites, as many of those contacted have either ceased operation or taken licenses.
About the NMPA
Founded in 1917, the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA) is the trade association representing American music publishers and their songwriting partners. The NMPA’s mandate is to protect and advance the interests of music publishers and songwriters in matters relating to the domestic and global protection of music copyrights.