Los Angeles – Digital music service Grooveshark has issued
an open letter to the music industry, defending its legality and protesting the
removal of its mobile applications by Apple and Google, Digital Music News
reported. "There is nothing illegal about what Grooveshark offers to
consumers," wrote CEO Paul Geller. "Grooveshark is completely legal
because we comply with the laws passed by Congress, but we are not licensed by
every label (yet)."
The company argues it is operating within the
parameters of the "safe harbor" clause of the Digital Millennium
Copyright Act (DMCA), which shields service providers from infringements
committed by users, which in Grooveshark’s case number 25 million.
"We’ve
taken down over 1.76 million files and suspended upload privileges to 22,274
users," Geller points out, adding, "We pay for our streams, and we
actively negotiate with virtually every single content owner."
Grooveshark
is currently being sued by Universal Music Group for copyright infringement;
fellow major label EMI dropped its suit against the company and licensed its
catalog in 2009.
"We will defend our service, and the letter and the
spirit of the law, in court and in Congress," Geller concludes, before
asking Google and Apple to reinstate the Grooveshark app to their respective
app stores.
Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/3tm7h6u
(Digital Music News)
http://tinyurl.com/3eqcwk7
(TorrentFreak)
http://tinyurl.com/2fv8y8p
(DMW previous coverage)
