DiMA: Court’s Decision Is a Win for Cloud-based Music Services, Innovation and Consumer Satisfaction

(Washington, D.C.) – Lee Knife, interim Executive Director of the Digital Media Association (DiMA) issued a statement today in response to a decision filed this week by the District Court for the Southern District of New York, in the case of Capitol Records, Inc. v. MP3Tunes, LLC.  The Court built upon the Cablevision case decision in the Second Circuit, further clarifying the distinction between private performances and royalty-bearing public performances.

“The court’s decision is a major victory for those cloud-based music services which allow customers to upload music they already own and remotely play back that music via a smartphone, laptop or other Internet-connected device – whenever and wherever they choose.

“The ruling also reaffirmed a strong commitment to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ("DMCA") and the notion that service providers should not be held liable for merely providing a locker service on which users may store their copies of copyrighted material, provided the service provider is fully compliant with the requirements outlined in the DMCA safe harbor.

“These successive decisions will undoubtedly result in more innovation, greater consumer satisfaction and the lawful consumption of more digital entertainment.”