NEW YORK (CelebrityAccess MediaWire)– Cherry Lane Music Publishing, one of the world’s leading independent music publishers — responsible for catalogues of world famous artists such as Elvis Presley, Quincy Jones, The Black Eyed Peas, John Legend, and more than 65,000 other copyrights — along with the national French tennis organization (Federation Française de Tennis) and French soccer league (Ligue de Football Professionel) have joined the the copyright infringement class action lawsuit against YouTube and Google.
According to Dan Johnson, Premier League spokesman: "We are pleased to see other copyright holders joining us in what we are trying to achieve. They clearly recognize the need to take action against YouTube and Google to protect the value of their rights."
"The Internet is increasingly important as a medium for distribution of entertainment, sports, and other content, but nothing gives YouTube the right to build its business based on the hard work of others without their permission and without payment. We anticipate these latest parties are just the ‘tip of the iceberg’, and more will follow."
Mr. Johnson added, "It is our intention to demonstrate the technology currently being used to take and exploit copyrighted works can be just as effectively used to police and prevent unauthorized posting of creative works. This will allow content owners and creators to choose how their works will be distributed electronically without first being subjected to wide scale infringement on the YouTube site."
The newest public supporters of the class action suit include:
Cherry Lane Music Publishing Co., Inc. – Cherry Lane is one of the world's top four independent music publishers. Headquartered in New York, Cherry Lane administers more than 65,000 copyrights, including a roster of songwriters and composers such as Elvis Presley, John Denver, The Black Eyed Peas, John Legend, Quincy Jones, Wolfmother, and many others. Cherry Lane’s partners and clients include production companies such as DreamWorks Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG, Icon Productions, Walden Media and brands such as Pokémon, NFL Films, NASCAR, and World Wrestling Entertainment. Cherry Lane’s press release announcing its support and participation in the class action can be found at http://www.cherrylane.com/clpub/html/body–news.cfm.
Federation Française de Tennis – FFT is France’s national tennis organization. It organizes the French Open, one of the four Grand Slam tournaments in tennis. Live updates and video highlights of the 2007 French Open, taking place this week, can be found at www.rolandgarros.com. FFT’s press release announcing its support and participation in the class action can also be found at www.rolandgarros.com.
Ligue de Football Professionnel – LFP is the professional soccer league in France. It manages the two professional divisions of French soccer, League 1 and League 2, as well as the French Supercup and League Cup. French league games are broadcast in more than 150 countries around the world and regularly watched by millions of fans worldwide.
The class action complaint, filed in federal court in New York City on May 4, 2007, asserts claims on behalf of all copyright owners who have had their material copied and exploited on the YouTube website without authorization. The lawsuit asks a federal judge for a court order to stop YouTube’s unauthorized and uncompensated use of the creative works of Class members, force YouTube to adopt existing technology to prevent unauthorized content from being exploited, and for damages for past infringement. – CelebrityAccess Staff Writers
