QUICK TAKES - Nov. 7, 2009
A federal judge in L.A. has temporarily blocked two music-sharing websites from selling songs by the Beatles and other artists for 25 cents apiece.
U.S. District Judge John F. Walter on Thursday blocked the sites BlueBeat.com and Basebeat.com and owner Hank Risan from selling copyrighted songs by the Beatles and others. Music company EMI Group filed a federal lawsuit on Tuesday seeking an injunction against the sites, claiming they were engaging in music piracy.
EMI claims the websites have infringed on its copyrights to numerous artists’ songs, including the Beach Boys, Coldplay and Lily Allen.
The website’s attorney opposed EMI’s injunction request, saying the sites are selling an altered version of the songs.
Neither site was online Friday. Walter has scheduled a court hearing for Nov. 20 on whether to keep the injunction in place.
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