MP3.com Stock Up 20% as Settlement Discussed

Shares of MP3.com rebounded Monday as the world’s largest record companies said they were stepping up efforts to settle their dispute with the online music company after a federal judge’s ruling Friday that MP3.com violated copyright law.

The shares were up 20%, or $1.41 to $8.41, amid heavy trading.

The stock fell 40% Friday after Judge Jed Rakoff of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of New York ruled that San Diego-based MP3.com infringed on copyrights held by the record labels with the creation of a database of more than 80,000 albums that allows users to store music digitally and then access it via any computer connected to the Internet.

Rakoff convened a meeting late Friday between lawyers for MP3.com and the Recording Industry Assn. of America, the trade group representing the five major record labels, to work out a schedule to resolve the dispute.

MP3.com Chief Executive Michael Robertson said talks were focusing on working out a way for MP3.com to license the music from the labels rather than removing the copyrighted music altogether.