Europeans sue major record labels :lol: :lol:
European consumer group is suing four of the Big Five labels for selling copy-protected CDs that won't play in car stereos or on computers.
The Belgium-based Test-Aankoop says so far, it's had more than 200 complaints.
"Industry observers believe Test-Aankoop's suit is the biggest European legal challenge yet to the music industry's controversial campaign to release copy-protected discs to minimize the impact that digital piracy is having on sales," says a Reuters report here.
Test-Aankoop cited more than a dozen top-selling releases which wouldn't play on "multiple devices," says the report.
It says although on that EMI, Universal Music, Sony Music and BMG are named in the suit, which is expected to be heard this week in a Belgian court, Warner Music wasn't.
It doesn't explain why it was apparently left out.
"We are trying to establish legal precedent in this matter. Then, we expect other consumer organizations will follow," spokesman Mechels Ivo is quoted as saying.
Test-Aankoop says it contacted record label enforcer the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in the fall about the concerns, adds the story.
Source
