Alex Veiga

October 02, 2006 | Law.com

A California federal judge has ruled against the distributor of the Morpheus online file-sharing software, finding the firm encouraged computer users to share music, movies and other copyrighted works without permission. The ruling was a sweeping victory for a coalition of Hollywood movie studios, record companies and music publishers who sued Los Angeles-based StreamCast Networks and similar firms in 2001. The case led to a landmark copyright ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court last year.

By Alex Veiga

2 minute read

September 29, 2005 | Law.com

Virgin Records said Tuesday it would release the Rolling Stones' latest album on a new encrypted flash memory card, dubbed Gruvi, which will allow users to preview and buy locked tracks from four of the veteran rockers' previous albums. Although the card comes with copy-protection technology built in, one attorney says placing copy-protection technology on the SanDisk card didn't make sense because fans can already find the content online for free.

By Alex Veiga

2 minute read

November 06, 2007 | Law.com

A Los Angeles jury has awarded $3.3 million to six workers who claimed they were left sterile by a pesticide used at a banana plantation in Nicaragua operated by Dole Fresh Fruit Co. The workers' lawsuit accused Dole and Standard Fruit Co., now part of Dole, of negligence and fraudulent concealment while using the pesticide DBCP in the 1970s.

By Alex Veiga

1 minute read

June 30, 2004 | Law.com

Mattel Inc. must pay more than $1.8 million in legal fees and court costs to a Utah man who incorporated nude Barbie dolls in his artwork, a federal judge has ruled. The award stems from a lawsuit the El Segundo, Calif.-based toy maker filed in 1999 against Tom Forsythe on grounds that his series of photos, "Food Chain Barbie," infringed on the toy maker's copyrights.

By Alex Veiga

2 minute read

December 04, 2007 | Law.com

A federal judge on Dec. 3 threw out an antitrust lawsuit that the operator of the LimeWire online file-sharing service filed against a coalition of major record labels. U.S. District Judge Gerard E. Lynch in New York ruled that Lime Group LLC failed to make its case that it has been harmed by the recording companies' business practices, and he granted the companies' motion to dismiss the claims.

By Alex Veiga

3 minute read

February 04, 2005 | Legaltech News

The founder of MP3.com -- a pioneering music download Web site that turned out to be a litigation magnet after its launch in 1997 -- is preparing to re-enter the digital music business with a new online music service set to debut next week. Michael Robertson's new service, dubbed MP3tunes, will sell tracks in the MP3 format, which doesn't have any copy-protection restrictions and can be played on most, if not all, digital music players.

By Alex Veiga

3 minute read

February 07, 2005 | Law.com

The founder of MP3.com -- a pioneering music download Web site that turned out to be a litigation magnet after its launch in 1997 -- is preparing to re-enter the digital music business with a new online music service set to debut this week. Michael Robertson's new service, dubbed MP3tunes, will sell tracks in the MP3 format, which doesn't have any copy-protection restrictions and can be played on most, if not all, digital music players.

By Alex Veiga

3 minute read

November 04, 2004 | Law.com

Taking a cue from recording companies, Hollywood movie studios plan an ongoing litigation campaign by filing copyright infringement lawsuits against computer users it says are illegally distributing movies online, a source familiar with the studios' plans said Wednesday. The lawsuits, said the source, will target movie fans who share digitized versions of films over peer-to-peer networks, with the first wave of litigation planned for as early as today.

By Alex Veiga

2 minute read

July 02, 2004 | The Legal Intelligencer

Mattel Inc. must pay more than $1.8 million in legal fees and court costs to a Utah man who incorporated nude Barbie dolls in his artwork, a federal judge has ruled.

By Alex Veiga

2 minute read

March 06, 2006 | Law.com

The Justice Department said Thursday it has launched an inquiry into possible price fixing in the burgeoning online music industry. Two record industry officials characterized the inquiry as essentially identical to one launched in December by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who subpoenaed several record companies searching for information on wholesale prices that music labels charge for downloadable digital music files.

By Alex Veiga

2 minute read