BlueBeat hit with restraining order for selling Beatles tracks
by Stevie Smith - Nov 6 2009, 06:35
You never give me your money... you only sell without authorisation. Image: walknboston/Flickr.
A federal judge in the United States has handed music heavyweight EMI an initial victory in the copyright infringement case it recently brought against online service BlueBeat for streaming and selling Beatles content without authorisation.
Specifically, Judge John Walter of the District Court of Los Angeles has issued a temporary order against BlueBeat parent Media Rights Technologies Inc., instructing the company to cease and desist the streaming and/or selling of content created by EMI recording artists.
With California-based Media Rights Technologies now facing the possible enforcement of a permanent restraining order during a hearing set for November 20, a lawyer for the company has said it will be ready in good time to defend against EMI’s action.
Speaking in a Wall Street Journal report, lawyer Archie Robinson described his client, Media Rights Technologies CEO Hank Risan, as “a genius” and said BlueBeat was able to sell music based on a system created by Risan called “psychoacoustic simulation” which provides identical recordings that can be sold without infringing on copyrights.
BlueBeat fell into EMI’s crosshairs after it was discovered to be selling both original and remastered Beatles tracks at a price of just $0.25 USD, which – beyond being a quarter of the per-track charge of iTunes – was a surefire way to attract legal action given that The Fab Four’s music is not yet officially available for sale in a downloadable format.
Comment on this Story