# XM Responds to RIAA Lawsuit



## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

XM Satellite Radio on Wednesday responded to a lawsuit
filed against the company by the recording industry that 
takes aim at a product designed to record music delivered
by the satellite radio service.

The Recording Industry Association of America, which 
counts as members major labels such as Universal Music 
Group, Warner Music Group, EMI and Sony BMG, filed
the suit late Tuesday in New York federal court. The 
litigation accuses XM of "massive wholesale infringement,"
and seeks $150,000 in damages for every song copied
by XM customers using the device, which went on sale
earlier this month.

The litigation involves the Pioneer Inno XM2go radio.

"These are legal devices that allow consumers to listen 
to and record radio just as the law has allowed for 
decades," the company said in a statement. "The music 
labels are trying to stifle innovation, limit consumer 
choice and roll back consumers' rights to record content
for their personal use."

XM also claimed the suit "is a negotiating tactic on the 
part of the labels to gain an advantage in our private 
business discussions." The company said it's the largest 
single payer of digital music broadcast royalties, and 
royalties paid by XM go to the music industry and 
benefit artists directly.

XM said it will "vigorously defend this lawsuit on 
behalf of consumers."

The lawsuit, combined with a tough day on Wall Street,
sent XM shares down more than 5 percent to $16.62. 
That represents a new 52-week low for the stock.

Shares in Sirius also fell, by more than 4 percent to 
$4.02, also a 52-week low for the stock.

www.SkyReport.com - used with permission


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

*"XM has zero resemblance to the old Napster
or other peer-to-peer file sharing services."*

With XM Satellite Radio being sued by record labels over the company's Inno product,
the recording industry says the device, which stores music and divides it into tracks,
infringes upon copyrighted material. But the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)
is saying something much different: Enough is enough.

"The record industry is returning to the courts in their non-stop efforts to stop new
technology, neuter existing products, frustrate consumers and make illegal long-
standing consumer home recording activities," said CEA VP of government affairs,
Michael Petricone. "XM's only offense is providing legal and exciting programming
options to millions of Americans, while opening new revenue and promotional
opportunities for the recording industry."

Petricone called the lawsuit "a brazen effort by the labels to strong-arm more money
from a successful technology industry startup" especially because XM is the largest
single payer of digital music broadcast royalties to date. The record labels receive
royalties on every XM recording device sold as provided by Congress under the
Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA)," he said.

XM has defended itself by saying that music stored on the Inno cannot be moved
elsewhere and only lasts as long as a customer is a subscriber.

"The products at issue in this lawsuit do not allow redistribution over the Internet or
to any other product," Petricone said in XM's defense. "They simply allow consumers
to time-shift music they are lawfully receiving through subscription fees - fees that
support the royalty payments to the labels."

The association's spokesman said that "XM has zero resemblance to the old Napster
or other peer-to-peer file sharing services."

To read CEA's complete statement, visit http://www.ce.org/Press/CurrentNews/default.asp.

www.SkyRetailer.com - used with permission


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## AcuraCL (Dec 12, 2005)

Go XM. Go CEA.


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## arundc (Jan 14, 2006)

AcuraCL said:


> Go XM. Go CEA.


Go Consumer! This lawsuit has no merit what-so-ever. Can the RIAA be more anti-consumer than this?!?!?! What is up with these people?!?!?! :nono:

Here's to XM kicking butt...


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## Nick (Apr 23, 2002)

*"...the recording industry...should exercise some restraint"*

by Michael Hopkins [email protected]

As one reader told us concerning the XM/recording industry litigation, "You can't rip the
digital file from a Pioneer Inno XM2go satellite receiver and take it to your computer.
End of discussion."

Nonetheless, the Pioneer Inno XM2go satellite radio receiver, which doubles as an MP3
player/recorder, has the company defending itself in federal court. And it has to fight a
tough, litigation-centric nemesis, the recording industry.

What are XM's arguments in the case?

Copying songs from broadcast sources isn't something new. "Our subscribers, just like
radio listeners have done for 50 years, have the right to make a single copy of a song
for themselves," Gary Parsons, chairman of XM, said recently. "They don't have the right
to distribute that copy on the internet for others."

And the company says it's the largest single payer of digital music broadcast royalties,
which go to the music industry and artists. XM and satellite radio competitor Sirius pay
millions of dollars in royalties to labels, writers and performers. Terrestrial radio does
the same thing.

XM also claims the recording industry is using the lawsuit as a negotiating tactic to gain
an advantage in private business discussions between the sides. And that may be true.

However, given the recording industry's aggressive legal tactics targeting services like
Napster and the consumers who use them, the satellite radio company should be a bit
cautious in how it proceeds when defending itself.

That said, the recording industry also should exercise some restraint. The business doesn't
want to infuriate consumers, especially in the quickly-changing digital age. And attempting
to curtail - or at least determine - how consumers access music could backfire on an
industry that has been known to resisting change.

The recording industry should embrace the Inno. After all, it's happy with a similar product
from Sirius (and the potential revenue that receiver brings to the business). In the end, the
Inno and similar radios may prove to be an irresistible technology that brings consumers
back into the music business.

Do you have a comment or letter for SkyFILES? Write the editors at: [email protected].

www.SkyReport.com - used with permission


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