Music Companies Sue Technicolor Over Pirated CDs

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Apr 11, 2002 Source: Submitted By: TS LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A recording industry trade group said on Thursday it has sued Technicolor Inc., one of the largest manufacturers and distributors of music and video programming, for allegedly producing pirated CDs of major artists. In its complaint, the Recording Industry Association of America alleged that Technicolor's plant in Camarillo has knowingly copied and distributed pirated CDs from artists such as N-Sync, Backstreet Boys, Celine Dion, Will Smith, Amber, Lauryn Hill, Marc Anthony and Julio Iglesias. The RIAA filed the suit on Friday in federal court in Los Angeles. "The physical evidence connecting the Technicolor plant to these CDs is crystal clear, so our case is strong," said Matt Oppenheim, the RIAA's senior vice president, business and legal affairs. "We fear that the CDs we have filed suit on are only the tip of the iceberg." Technicolor denies the allegations of piracy and will vigorously contest the RIAA's claims, parent Thomson Multimedia SA said in a statement issued on Thursday. It called Technicolor "a trusted partner of major content providers." Thomson, whose brands also include RCA, said the allegations involve a "very small" number of replication orders completed before it acquired Technicolor. Oppenheim said Technicolor failed to live up to legal obligations stemming from a settlement of similar claims in 1998 by record companies. The company has refused required inspection of its books and facilities and also rebuffed attempts by the RIAA to negotiate a settlement, he said. The RIAA is a trade group representing the U.S. recording industry, including major labels like AOL Time Warner Inc's Warner Music Group, Vivendi Universal's Universal Music, Sony Corp's Sony Music, EMI Group Plc's and Bertelsmann AG BMG. Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: Ann Submitted by: Michael Pollitt Submitted by: Monika Submitted by: Kevin Submitted by: William Submitted by: Kevin Shen Comment on this item. Next Item: BSB's Back in Business with New Management Prev Item: Caliornia BSB Fan Convention