UMG Settles XM Lawsuit

By Amy Gilroy -- TWICE, 12/17/2007

New York - Universal Music Group (UMG) settled its lawsuit against XM Satellite Radio over the Pioneer Inno portable audio player and its advanced recording capabilities. No terms of the deal were disclosed.

The three other leading record labels, however, have not yet settled in a suit filed against XM by all four companies in May 2006. The suit claimed XM turned its radio service into a music download service because of the advanced recording capabilities of the Pioneer Inno.

XM is in talks with the other record companies and said, “We look forward to continuing our discussions with the other music companies in hopes of arriving at a resolution that benefits everyone, especially consumers,” according to a spokesman.

The original lawsuit centered on the Pioneer Inno’s ability to record blocks of XM programming like a DVR, and then let users select individual songs to keep in memory. The record companies sought an injunction preventing XM from allowing songs to be singled out for storage from within a recorded block and also sought damages. It did not seek to stop sales of the Inno.

XM claimed the Inno features are legal under the terms of the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992 (AHRA).

UMG said it reached a multiyear agreement covering all XM radios with advanced recording capability and said it will withdraw as a party to the complaint filed in May.

“We are pleased to have resolved this situation in an amicable manner,” said Doug Morris, UMG chairman and CEO.