Approximately 60 million global visitors to German-operated YouTube-mp3.org have availed themselves of pirated music every month, worth millions of dollars every year. The free ride is over, as the U.S. Federal Court Central District of California just ruled in favor of the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), which brought a suit on behalf of music labels. The now-shuttered site and others like it operate by removing the audio file from a music video and distributing it as a free permanent download. Continue reading U.S. Federal Court Closes Largest Music Stream-Ripping Site

In a blow to record companies — and a win for Internet service providers, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York yesterday ruled that Vimeo cannot be held liable for copyright infringement if the video-sharing site unknowingly hosts older music that was uploaded by users. In addition, the court ruled that it is not enough to prove Vimeo ignored infringement if company employees had watched videos containing copyrighted sound recordings. The case, which centered on the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), was being watched closely by Silicon Valley. Continue reading Appeals Court Rules for Vimeo in Copyright Infringement Case

ReDigi, the online platform that allows consumers to buy and sell used MP3 files that were initially purchased legally through retailers such as iTunes, has been deemed unlawful by U.S. District Judge Richard Sullivan. The case considered the first sale copyright doctrine, which gives people in possession of copyrighted materials the right to resell them. But the judge ruled that this first sale theory does not apply to the reselling of digital goods. Continue reading ReDigi: Judge Rules Reselling of Digital Goods not Legal