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Record Industry Sues XM Satellite Over iPod like Device
The largest labels of the recording industry are suing XM Satellite Radio over its new “Inno” device, an iPod-like portable player that can record up to 50 hours of music, which went on sale several weeks ago. While the suit seeks $150,000 in damages for each song copied by XM Satellite’s customers using the Inno, it does so only from XM Satellite itself; it does not seek payments or sanctions directly from XM Satellite customers. XM Satellite says it plays 160,000 different songs every month.
The lawsuit brings to the forefront the application of existing, settled law to digital devices. XM Satellite claims that the Inno merely allow users to listen to and record the radio “just as the law has allowed for decades”, comparing its device to a high-tech videocassette recorder which consumers can legally use to record programs for personal use. The recording industry contends that the Inno is legally indistinguishable from other portable music players that work with downloading services such as the iPod, and as such, requires appropriate licenses.
The laws The largest labels of the recording industry are suing XM Satellite Radio over its new “Inno” device, an iPod-like portable player that can record up to 50 hours of music, which went on sale several weeks ago. While the suit seeks $150,000 in damages for each song copied by XM Satellite’s customers using the Inno, it does so only from XM Satellite itself; it does not seek payments or sanctions directly from XM Satellite customers. XM Satellite says it plays 160,000 different songs every month.
The lawsuit brings to the forefront the application of existing, settled law to digital devices. XM Satellite claims that the Inno merely allow users to listen to and record the radio “just as the law has allowed for decades”, comparing its device to a high-tech videocassette recorder which consumers can legally use to record programs for personal use. The recording industry contends that the Inno is legally indistinguishable from other portable music players that work with downloading services such as the iPod, and as such, requires appropriate licenses.
The lawsuit and the differences may, however, merely relate to posturing between the parties, who are currently in negotiations regarding distribution licenses similar to the ones signed by XM Satellite’s chief rival Sirius Satellite Radio for a device similar to the Inno and Apple’s downloading service iTunes.
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