CBS and CNET have apparently been supporting – and profiting from – internet piracy for years, and finally some pop music hasbeens have decided to make them pay for it. A group of artists including members of 2LiveCrew, Pretty Rocky and Force MDs have joined a lawsuit against CBS Interactive and CNET that alleges that the companies have “received massive amounts of revenue from P2P providers on a ‘pay per download’ basis and also from advertising revenue generated by advertisements placed on the download screen for P2P software.”
The argument behind the lawsuit is based around the fact that CBS properties like CNET and Download.com offered the filesharing program Limewire for download until a court order shut the service down last year; no surprise, then, that the lawsuit is the work of FilmOn.com founder Alki David, who accused CBS of supporting piracy last year following the network supporting an attempt to block FilmOn from rebroadcasting television online without permission. In response to this new suit, CBS offered a statement that called the suit “a desperate attempt to distract copyright holders like us from continuing our rightful claims. His lawsuit against CBS affiliates is riddled with inaccuracies, and we are confident that we will prevail, just as we did in the injunction hearing involving his company.”
On the plus side, if David’s legal team ever runs short of funds, it should be easy to come up with a truly bizarre song to try and raise money for future efforts. Who hasn’t ever wanted to hear a collaboration between Pretty Rocky and 2LiveCrew?
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