Playmedia sues Nullsoft for $20 million.
March 15, 1999 - Los Angeles; PlayMedia Systems, Inc. <www.playmediasystems.com>, a leading MP3 Internet music
technology firm, has filed a federal copyright lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, seeking over $20 million in
damages and a permanent injunction against Nullsoft, Inc., maker of the popular "WinAmp" MP3 player; PlayMedia
Systems, Inc., et al. v. Nullsoft, Inc., et al., U.S.D.C. Case No. 99-02494 AHM (Mcx).
While some in the recorded music industry have expressed concern that that "MP3" compression technology may
contribute to an increase in music piracy, PlayMedia Systems, Inc. alleges in federal court that "WinAmp" by Nullsoft, Inc.,
arguably the world's most popular MP3 player, itself pirates from PlayMedia's software, known as the "AMP Audio MPEG
Player" ("AMP").
PlayMedia's lawsuit alleges that the code for AMP was written by PlayMedia principal Tomislav Uzelac and thereafter
copied to create WinAmp as a derivative work. Nullsoft attempted to obtain a license to use AMP in its software early last
year, the suit alleges, but an agreement was not reached. Nullsoft then represented that WinAmp "no longer uses any
portion of the AMP code that may be proprietary to Tomislav Uzelac," the suit alleges.
PlayMedia's lawsuit alleges that Nullsoft's representation was false, and that the defendants have continued to use the
AMP code in WinAmp and other derivative works in violation of U.S. copyright law. The suit seeks damages in excess of
$20 million for copyright infringement, fraud and other claims, as well as a permanent injunction barring Nullsoft from using
the AMP code.
According to PlayMedia CEO Brian D. Litman, "We regret that we had no choice but to file this action. Copyright law
requires us to be vigilant in protecting our intellectual property, and efforts to remedy the situation directly with Nullsoft were
to no avail," he said.
"I want to be clear that this suit has nothing to do with MP3's intrinsic legitimacy as a format for the playback and
enjoyment of music," said Litman. "The copyright we allege being infringed is that of our computer code, not anyone's
music. Quite to the contrary, we believe that MP3 will empower artists and the owners of copyrighted music to dramatically
extend their reach into the market using the superdistributive power of the Internet. There are legitimate economic models
for both free MP3's and secured MP3's," he said. PlayMedia is active in the development of both variants of MP3
technology.
The lawsuit was filed by the Los Angeles law firm of Gradstein, Luskin & Van Dalsem, who last month won a $47 million
fraud verdict against PBS in federal court on behalf of ex-Monkee Michael Nesmith concerning rights to a home video
library.
PlayMedia Systems Inc. designs, develops and deploys digital content distribution and management software, hardware
and integrated systems. It was founded in January, 1998 by former US West Vice President Brian D. Litman and
multimedia technologists Dr. Mario Kovac, Tomislav Uzelac and Davor Runje. PlayMedia is headquartered in Los Angeles,
with R&D operations in Europe and a worldwide network of affiliated software developers. It is an active member of the
RIAA's Secure Digital Music Initiative.
playmediasystems.com
Who is PlayMedia CEO, Brian Litman?
playmediasystems.com
Uzelac's biodata:
playmediasystems.com |
