COPYCENSE

“The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into the online music industry, looking into ‘possible anti-competitive practices’ in the growing music download business.

“The Justice Department’s investigation could be a replay of an earlier government investigation. In 2000, many of the same companies settled an antitrust case with the Federal Trade Commission, which found the five largest distributors of recorded music guilty of forging marketing agreements that set artificially high prices for compact discs. That price-fixing arrangement may have cost consumers nearly $500 million over three years, the FTC determined, but it did not levy fines against the companies. State attorneys general later sued and settled with the music companies.”

Yuki Noguchi. Justice Probes Music Firms’ Pricing of Downloads. WashingtonPost.com. March 4, 2006.

See also:

BBC News. U.S. Inquiry Into Music Downloading. March 3, 2006.

CopyCense™: K. Matthew Dames on the intersection of business, law and technology. A business venture of Seso Digital LLC.