Another day, another lawsuit. As noted by AppleInsider, Apple, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, and Pandora are being sued by the estate of composer Harold Arlen, who wrote such songs as “Over the Rainbow” from The Wizard of Oz film. The lawsuit claims the firms created a “music piracy operation” that distributes unlicensed and unauthorized versions of copyrighted songs.
Filed in the US District Court of the Central District of California on May 9, the lawsuit from SA Music and Harold Arlen Trust claims the companies in question: failed to account for the ownership of music being submitted to music services, which due to a lack of proper clearance and licensing; and makes it easier for recording to be stolen from the rightful recipients.
While Apple and the other stores are not accused directly of making the copied versions, the sale of the unauthorized reproductions makes them complicit. “It is an infringement for which the Pirate Label, Distributor, and Online Defendants are jointly and severally liable.” The lawsuit asks for a jury trial.
