A New York jury has ordered the ex-chief executive of defunct online music storage firm MP3tunes to pay about $41m in damages over alleged massive copyright infringement.
The latest court ruling comes after Michael Robertson was found guilty for hosting thousands of stolen songs originally owned by Capitol Records, EMI and other record labels and music publishers.
The latest ruling case marks a victory for the music industry in its court battles with online content providers including Napster, Grokster and LimeWire, which have been accused of illegally sharing copyrighted recordings, and claimed to have resulted in financial losses to original owners.
In the wake of latest ruling, Sony/ATV Music chairman and CEO Martin Bandier said that the company commends the jury on their careful consideration of the facts and their decision in the MP3Tunes.com case.
"The judicial process has worked in favor of the songwriter and demonstrated a respect for the copyrights laws," Bandier told Reuters.
"We will continue to vigorously pursue action against those who have disregarded the copyright laws of the works entrusted in our care."
Robertson’s two websites including MP3Tunes.com and Sideload.com boasted a directory of over 400,000 recordings by 40,000 artists.
