Grooveshark’s disappearing and reappearing act looks like it could finally come to an end; permanently. A Manhattan judge has ruled that because Grooveshark employees themselves had uploaded 5,977 songs to the service and infringing on copyrights in the process, the outfit couldn’t be granted safe harbor for hosting music from the likes of Jay-Z and Madonna. Meaning, the firm’s previous method of compliance under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was null and void because it wasn’t users who uploaded the copyrighted material (which would be subsequently removed upon request), it was in-house staffers including CEO Samuel Tarantino and CTO Joshua Greenberg, according to The New York Times. Reuters notes that there was also evidence of internal communications from Greenberg that told employes to share music as much as possible from outside the office in an effort to foster growth — all as a condition of employment.
What’s more, it was found that the streaming service had destroyed evidence pertaining to the case, including lists of files that’d been uploaded. The amount of damages haven’t been set just yet and, naturally, Grooveshark is considering its future moves, which may or may not include appealing the judgment. It’s worth noting that the company is still facing litigation at the New York federal and state levels, too.
[Image credit: Brad Barket/Invision/AP]
Filed under: Home Entertainment, Software, HD
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Source: Reuters, New York Times