Arista Records v. Mp3Board

Citation
Arista Records, Inc. v. Mp3Board, Inc., 2002 WL 1997918 (S.D.N.Y. 2002).

Factual Background
The record company plaintiff brought an action against a website operator (Mp3Board), alleging that the operator provided users with links to pirated copies of copyrighted sound recordings, thereby facilitating copyright infringement. Mp3Board asserted a third-party claim against the trade association of record companies, asserting tortious interference and knowing misrepresentation of infringement claims. Cross motions for summary judgment were filed.

Trial Court Proceedings
The District Court held that: (1) fact questions existed as to whether any direct infringement resulted from the defendant's operation of the website and whether the operator materially contributed to copyright infringement; (2) letter from the record companies' trade organization substantially complied with the DMCA notification requirements; (3) a fact question existed as to whether the website operator was a “service provider” within the meaning of the DMCA; (4) factors weighed against finding that the website operator made fair use of the copyrighted sound recordings; and (5) notice of copyright infringement sent to the website operator's Internet service provider (ISP) would not support tort claims by the operator.

The motions granted in part and denied in part.