Press Release
| Songwriters and Music Publishers File Copyright Infrigement Suit against Peer-to-Peer Music Service Aimster. |
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A copyright infringement lawsuit was filed last week in a Manhattan Federal Court by a group of prominent songwriters and music publishers against the Napster copycat service known as "Aimster." The plaintiffs include legendary songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and music publishers Criterion Music, Famous Music, and The Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. The defendants, operators of the unlicensed Aimster music service, have promoted themselves as an even more efficient, peer-to-peer music sharing service than Napster. "We are extremely disappointed," said Edward P. Murphy, President and CEO of National Music Publishers' Association, "that before the ink was even dry on Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals' opinion concluding that Napster was engaging in massive copyright infringement, another Internet music service would seek with impunity to supplant Napster and expect to get away with it. The American music community simply will not stand by and allow that to happen." Murphy praised plaintiff songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (co-writers of such world-famous songs as "Hound Dog," "Stand By Me," "Jailhouse Rock," "Kansas City" and "Charlie Brown") and the many other writers who have come forward in partnership with music publishers to protect their copyrights against infringement. Irwin Z. Robinson, Chairman and CEO of plaintiff Famous Music, Inc. and Board Chariman of the National Music Publishers' Association, added that "music publishers are proud to stand side by side with songwriters in protecting the rights of music creators at this critical juncture. Together we embrace the opportunities that have been created by the Internet, and are committed to ensuring that cyberspace is a secure environment for music commerce." "This lawsuit seeks to preserve the substance of our victory in Napster," concluded Murphy. "We intend in every instance to protect the rights of songwriters to be compensated for their creative efforts against the unscrupulous who seek to build businesses based on our music without consent or compensation. If these pirates thought our successful effort to defeat Napster was a one-shot deal, they're about to learn otherwise." The National Music Publishers' Association, Inc., founded in 1917, works to protect and advance the interests of the music publishing industry. With over 800 members, NMPA represents the most important and influential music publishing firms throughout the United States. |
