XM settles lawsuit over music copying
Universal Music Group and XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. said Monday they have agreed to settle a copyright infringement lawsuit over a portable music player sold by the broadcaster that enables users to make digital copies of music.
The deal calls for XM to pay Universal Music a fee for every device sold with the ability to make digital copies of individual tracks, a person familiar with the pact said on condition of anonymity, citing the confidentiality of the matter.
The companies did not disclose the terms of the settlement in their joint statement.
Universal Music, home to artists such as U2, Amy Winehouse and Jay-Z, was one of the record companies that sued XM in May 2006.
The lawsuit claimed XM was essentially selling music without permission because devices such as its Pioneer Inno let listeners make digital copies of music they can transfer from the device and retain.
Online music retailers such as Apple Inc.’s iTunes Music Store have licensing agreements with record labels so they can sell downloads.
Tropicana Entertainment LLC is doing what many other Atlantic City gamblers have done when dealt a bad hand: Cut your losses and get out.
The company plans to sell its casinos in New Jersey, Indiana and Mississippi following fallout from the denial of its Atlantic City license.
Word of the sales came as the company made a crucial $46 million interest payment Monday on its credit agreement and said it was working on reaching a deal with its lenders that would prevent it from filing for bankruptcy.
When New Jersey regulators denied a new license to the Tropicana, they ruled that owners Columbia Sussex Corp. were incapable of operating the kind of “first-class facility” required under law.
A half-dozen potential suitors have already expressed interest in buying the facility, which includes New Jersey’s largest hotel at 2,129 rooms.
Match.com, an old standby of online dating, wants to make some new connections among the fast-growing number of Facebook users. Owned by Barry Diller’s InterActiveCorp, it launches two features this week that bring greater social networking capabilities.
Match will announce Thursday the launch of Little Black Book, a new way to link Facebook users with Match.com daters. Already this week, it introduced Match My Friends, which allows friends or family members of a prospective online dater to create a profile for him or her – with the wannabe-dater’s approval.