(h) The MP3.com CasesIn 2000, the Recording Industry Association of America, Inc. (RIAA), on behalf of 10 of
its members, filed a complaint in federal court in the Southern District of New York for willful
copyright infringement against MP3.com, based on MP3.com’s new “My.MP3” service.^112
According to the complaint, this service allowed users to gain access through the Internet, and
download digital copies of, commercial CDs, using one of two component services:
“Instant Listening Service” – Under this service, a user could place an order for a commercial
CD through one of several online CD retailers cooperating with MP3.com, and then immediately
have access to the song tracks on that CD stored on an MP3.com server, before arrival of the
shipment of the physical CD ordered by the user.^113
“Beam-it” – Under this service, a user could insert a commercial CD or a copy thereof
(authorized or unauthorized) into his or her computer CD-ROM drive. If the MP3.com server
was able to recognize the CD, the user was then given access to the song tracks contained on the
CD stored on an MP3.com server.^114
In order to offer the My.MP3 service, MP3.com purchased and copied the tracks from
several tens of thousands of commercial CDs onto its servers.^115 When users accessed sound
recordings through My.MP3, it was these reproductions made by MP3.com that were accessed,
and not any copies made from the users’ own CD.^116 The plaintiffs sought a ruling that the
copying of the commercial CDs onto the MP3.com servers constituted willful infringement of
the copyright rights of the plaintiffs.
The case raised the very interesting issue of whether, assuming that users who are the
owners of a lawful copy of a CD could lawfully upload a copy thereof to an MP3.com server for
their own private use under Section 1008^117 of the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992^118 or
under the fair use doctrine, it should be lawful for MP3.com to assist users in accomplishing that,
and, if so, whether it should be permissible to do so by advance copying of tracks in anticipation
of a user ordering or already owning a CD containing those tracks.
(^112) Complaint for Copyright Infringement, UMG Recordings, Inc. v. MP3.com, Inc., No. 00 Civ. 0472 (S.D.N.Y.
Jan. 21, 2000).
(^113) Id. ¶ 4 & App. A.
(^114) Id.
(^115) UMG Recordings Inc. v. MP3.com Inc., 92 F. Supp. 2d 349, 350 (S.D.N.Y. 2000).
(^116) Id.
(^117) Section 1008 provides: “No action may be brought under this title alleging infringement of copyright based on
the manufacture, importation, or distribution of a digital audio recording device, a digital audio recording
medium, an analog recording device, or an analog recording medium, or based on the noncommercial use by a
consumer of such a device or medium for making digital musical recordings or analog musical recordings.” 17
U.S.C. § 1008.
(^118) Pub. L. No. 102-563, 106 Stat. 4244 (1992).