A group of music publishers has accused XM Satellite Radio of enabling "widespread infringement" of popular copyrighted songs on its subscription audio service.
The National Music Publishers Association (NMPA), in a suit filed in federal court in New York, charged that the satellite radio operator's XM + MP3 music service violates copyright laws. Listeners, the suit claims, are allowed to make permanent copies of on-air tracks through portable receiving/recording devices without the permission of and without properly compensating songwriters.
The service "constitutes pervasive and willful copyright infringement to the overwhelming detriment of copyright holders, legitimate online music services and, ultimately, consumers," said Debra Wong Yang, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
XM has taken the position that its listeners are legally allowed to record music off the radio for personal use under the Home Recording Act of 1992. Federal courts have upheld users' rights to record music from over-the-air radio for some purposes.
The music industry, however, argues that the devices marketed by XM (Samsung's Inno receiver, for example) are more akin to music download services like Apple's iTunes Store, which falls under a different copyright licensing regime.
XM spokesman Chance Patterson told CNET that the satellite radio operator pays royalties to writers and composers who are directly compensated by manufacturers of the devices.
The music publishers have asked a federal judge for an injunction that would stop the XM service and compensate parties with a maximum of $150,000 in damages for each song allegedly infringed by XM.
