Two years ago, a bunch of labels affiliated to music giant EMI Group sued both MP3tunes and its infamous founder Michael Robertson – former founder and CEO of MP3.com and currently running VoIP startup Gizmo5 – over alleged copyright infringement. A year ago, a judge did the sensible thing and tossed out the part of the case that could personally bankrupt the man.
Fast forward to about two weeks ago, when a new ruling gave EMI again a way to go after Robertson’s personal assets in court.
That poor decision was made after a key witness – a former director at MP3tunes who was fired – was reportedly paid by EMI to get her to change her deposition after the judge had already thrown it out. For more information about this unexpected turn of events, head over to this excellent article on TechDirt.
The fact that the record labels were going after Robertson personally was as despicable two years ago as it is now, and Robertson has now understandably appealed the court decision that would allow the roughly two dozen labels to personally sue him for MP3tunes’ alleged copyright infringement (which is also BS since the service only allows people to store their own digital music online and lets them access it from any Web-enabled device).
Robertson filed a motion for reconsideration or alternately certification for interlocutory appeal on Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York.
Meanwhile, he continues to ask readers of his blog to spread the word about EMI’s lies to the world. I’d consider doing just that if I were you.
(Image credit: MichaelRobertson.com)