Los Angeles - Major record label EMI Group and German media conglomerate Bertelsmann announced on Monday that they have settled a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by EMI over Bertelsmann's investment in the original Napster free file-sharing service.

While financial terms of the settlement were not disclosed, the Los Angeles Times cited people familiar with the arrangement as saying Bertelsmann will pay EMI $50-$150 million.

"We can now put this matter behind us and continue to pursue the development of new legitimate digital music business models," said EMI Group CEO Eric Nicoli.

Bertelsmann settled a similar lawsuit from Universal Music Group last year, agreeing to pay $60 million. The company still faces litigation from music publishers.

Bertelsmann was sued over its $85 million investment in the original Napster, with the labels and publishers arguing that the company was contributing to copyright infringement.

Venture capital firm Hummer Winblad, a fellow Napster investor, was also a target of copyright infringement litigation. The firm reached a tentative settlement with EMI and Universal in December.

Related Links:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-napster27mar27,1,2729549.story

http://www.bertelsmann.com

http://www.emigroup.com