Universal Music Group sues MySpace

Universal Music has filed a lawsuit against MySpace, accusing the popular social-networking site of copyright infringement. At issue are the thousands of music videos uploaded by MySpace users. In its complaint filed in the US District Court for the Central District of California, Universal accuses MySpace of complicity in its users’ infringement by reformatting the videos for playback once they are uploaded.

The lawsuit pits two titans against one another. MySpace is owned by News Corp., which counts Fox and DirecTV among its assets. Universal is a property of French company Vivendi Group. Given the parties involved, this battle could prove to be a long and costly one, no matter what the outcome. MySpace characterized the lawsuit as “meritless” in a press release, saying that it does not “induce, encourage or condone copyright violation in any way”.

Full story: Ars Technica