Monday, January 24, 2005

Bertelsmann Settles With Music Publisher Over Napster

The Associated Press is reporting that Bertelsmann AG has agreed to settle with a music publisher over its support of defunct file swapping service Napster. Bridgeport Music had sued Bertelsmann over its support of the venture. The settlement covers Bridgeport's legal fees and amounted to $50,000. Lawsuits are still pending against Bertelsmann and venture backer Hummer Winblad from Universal Music, EMI Music, and others. The companies were sued by a group of music publishers for funding and providing bridge funding to the Napster service, which was forced out of business and has been reborn as a legal music download service.

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