Bertelsman a German media conglomerate is planning to buy Napster (They currently already own a large part of the shares). But at the same time BMG Records, a division of Bertelsmann, has joined four other record labels in pursuing a lawsuit against Napster for copyright infringement.
At the same time Napster is accusing the record labels of engaging in antitrust activities. As you see it's a legal mess:
The deal to buy Napster is being promoted by Bertelsmann's chief executive, Thomas Middelhoff, who told a German newspaper this month that he was willing to pay $15 million to $30 million, in addition to the $85 million that his company has already lent Napster over the last few years. He said he believed a for-pay version of Napster could still become the Internet's most successful service. |
At the same time, BMG Records, a division of Bertelsmann, has joined four other record labels in pursuing a lawsuit against Napster for copyright infringement. That suit succeeded in knocking the service off the Internet last July.
Napster, in turn, has said the case against it should be thrown out because the record companies had engaged in antitrust activities, joining to thwart competition to their own Internet music services. A judge has given Napster permission to gather evidence from the record companies for its claims.
So if Bertelsmann buys Napster, it will have two of its divisions on opposite sides of a serious legal divide, with billions of dollars in damages at stake. As Bertelsmann is only one of a number of plaintiffs seeking damages from Napster, it could not on its own simply drop the suit.
Well this is pretty funny actually, would be cool to see what part of the company wins
But who actually really cares, Napster can be considered dead and isn't worth all the money spent on laywers...
Source: Yahoo.com
