RIAA Files Suit Against MP3.com

The battle for digital music is headed for the courts again. The RIAA (http://www.riaa.org) filed a complaint against MP3.com ( http://www.mp3.com) for copyright infringement in New York federal court.

At issue is MP3.com new My.MP3.com service which allows users to play their CDs anywhere. Users simply insert the CD into the computer and it is instantly available over the Internet.

The main problem is that, behind the scenes, MP3.com has encoded a wide range of CDs and put them on their servers. The RIAA claims that MP3.com does not have the permission from the copyright holders to do the encoding.

MP3.com says that the RIAA just doesn't understand the issues. "On behalf of consumers, we are disappointed that the positive benefits and security features of our newly upgraded My.MP3.com service are misunderstood by the RIAA and its member companies," said Michael Robertson, chief executive officer of MP3.com. "My.MP3.com provides more choices for consumers to do what they want with the music they already own. We believe My.MP3.com will stimulate CD sales and expand the music industry overall."

Robertson said that they haven't reviewed the complaint yet but plan to "defend this suit vigorously through the courts. We have every intention of fighting this to the court of last resort, if necessary."

In an open letter to Robertson, Hilary Rose, CEO and President of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) said "The copyright law was not invented just to protect the interests of companies, it exists to protect the creative talent of the many artists this culture has fostered and the investment in their work."

The MP3 battle rages on…