Canadian Record Label to Defend Family Against RIAA Lawsuit

Authored by Mark Hefflinger on January 27, 2006 - 8:10am.

New York - Nettwerk Music Group, Canada's largest record label and management firm, has said it will provide legal defense for a family sued by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for using file-sharing networks to commit copyright infringement. Songs by Nettwerk client Avril Lavigne are among those alleged to have been offered for downloading; other Nettwerk clients include Josh Rouse, Sarah McLachlan and Barenaked Ladies. "The current actions of the RIAA are not in my artists' best interests," said Nettwerk CEO Terry McBride. "Litigation is not 'artist development'. Litigation is a deterrent to creativity and passion and it is hurting the business I love." Nettwerk has said it will pay for the Gruebel family's lawyers, as well as any damages should the family lose its case. "Since 2003 the RIAA has continually misused the court and legal system, engaging in misguided litigation tactics for the purpose of extorting settlement amounts from everyday people -- parents, students, doctors, and general consumers of music," said Charles Lee Mudd Jr, a Chicago-based attorney who will represent the Gruebels. "In doing so, the RIAA has misapplied existing copyright law and improperly employed its protections not as a shield, but as a sword."
http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=107623
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/01/27/nettwerk_sues_riaa
http://www.nettwerk.com