Universal Sues Bertelsmann Over Napster

from the sue-anyone dept

When famed songwriters Lieber and Stoller sued Bertelsmann for investing in Napster, you could almost hear the collective forehead slapping of music industry execs (outside of Bertelsmann, of course) wondering why they hadn't thought of such a plan. It certainly didn't them long to jump on the bandwagon, though. Today, Universal Music announced that they, too, are suing Berteslmann for investing in Napster. Of course, I still think they're going to have a hard time proving their case - since it's pretty difficult to explain how the investor in a company is liable for any illegal activity of the company, itself. Of course, I imagine, they're going to use material from the new book about Napster to suggest that Bertelsmann played a bigger role in Napster's life than a hands-off investor.