Music giant settles suit against Imeem

Warner Music Group Corp. said Thursday that it had settled its copyright infringement lawsuit against the social-networking website Imeem by agreeing to license its music and video content to the site for a slice of its ad revenue.

Financial details of the settlement were not disclosed.

Under the agreement, Imeem Inc. can carry music and videos from all of the record company’s artists, who include Madonna, Linkin Park and Red Hot Chili Peppers.

San Francisco-based Imeem debuted in 2004, offering instant messaging and file-sharing software. It has since morphed into a social-networking website that also streams free audio and video next to advertisements.

Like YouTube and similar sites, Imeem allows computer users to post their own videos. The Imeem site, which has been offering video content for about 18 months, claims to have about 16 million active users.

New York-based Warner Music Group is the first major record label to sign a licensing deal with Imeem. The site also has content deals with some smaller labels and independent film studios, Imeem spokesman Mike Barash said.

Warner filed a federal lawsuit against Imeem in May, claiming that the website was enabling millions of computer users to share music and video of Warner artists without permission.

In the complaint, the record company also asserted that Imeem deliberately refrained from using technology that would prevent users from sharing unauthorized content.

Imeem has since started using audio filtering software from copyright management provider Snocap Inc. and is working on adding similar technology to filter online video, Barash said.

Barash said the company was in licensing talks with other major labels.