Matt McGee ([email protected])
Fri, 22 Jan 1999 13:46:26 -0800
Matt
--------------------
"The Internet Daily: Internet Industry News [Thursday - 01/21/99]
The Day the Lyrics Died
Music publishers have turned up the heat to shut down Switzerland-based
International Lyrics Server (http://www.lyrics.ch), which makes available
lyrics to more than 100,000 songs.
With its database offline, the site greets visitors with a message
reading "Servers have been confiscated by the police."
The National Music Publishers Association Inc. said it brought legal
action against the Web site, arguing it was illegally publishing
copyrighted material. In December, a Swiss court issued a temporary
injunction barring the Web site's use of the musical compositions named
in the suit, pending a hearing this week. With the additional filing last
week of a criminal complaint by the copyright owners, the local District
Attorney in Basel ordered the seizure of the computers and the contents
of the Web site's database as evidence.
An ILS representative said the Web site was "not willing to either cease
the distribution of the songs nor to close the server," and refused to
cooperate in licensing discussions unless guaranteed concessions from
copyright owners in advance.
"It was soon after that point that several of our music publisher members
sought our assistance in enforcing their rights through the Swiss
courts," Edward Murphy, the publishers' association president, said."
_______________________
Matt McGee / [email protected]
@U2 Home Page
http://www.atu2.com
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