UMG and XM Resolve Legal Battle

Universal Music Group and XM Satellite Radio have resolved their legal battle over the Pioneer Inno portable satellite receiver.

The suit began in the spring of 2006, when the RIAA deemed an XM receiver made by Pioneer a form of copyright infringement. The device in question was the Inno, which is capable of recording up to 50 hours of XM content in MP3 or WMA formats. It also works in conjunction with Napster to bookmark songs for purchase, schedule recordings or get artist information.

UMG argued that this capability was outside the original music licensing deals it struck with XM, and that such “timeshifting” capabilities were similar to a download, thereby resulting in the loss of a potential sale.

Universal Music Group has become the first RIAA member involved with this ongoing lawsuit to have reached a multi-year agreement with XM, making its music available for recording on current and future hardware. Further, UMG withdrew itself from the RIAAcomplaint against XM.

In trying to establish a licensing deal, the RIAA issued a suit against XM for the Inno, seeking $150,000 in damages for every song copied onto this device by XM subscribers. The satellite company alleged the RIAA was just using the lawsuit as leverage in the negotiations.

Now that UMG has reached an agreement with the satellite company over licensing, and with rumors of major label Warner Music soon doing the same, it will soon become evident whether this suit was, in fact, a success for the RIAA.

“We look forward to continuing our discussions with the other music companies in hopes of reaching a resolution that benefits everyone,” said a spokesman for XM.