New York, January 14: A federal appeals court revived an antitrust lawsuit on Wednesday that accuses major record labels controlling 80% of US digital music sales of scheming together to charge high prices.
The Second US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the lawsuit can proceed before a judge in Manhattan because enough facts, as described by the plaintiffs, support the claims.
The lawsuit brought by music purchasers had been tossed out by a lower court judge in October 2008. It accused major record labels of conspiring to fix the prices and terms under which music would be sold over the internet.
The New York legal action combined 28 lawsuits brought across the country from December 2005 through July 2006. The combined lawsuit was filed in Manhattan in April 2007.
Defendants include the four major recording companies: Universal Music Group, Warner Music Group Corp, EMI Music North America, and Sony BMG Music Entertainment, a joint venture of Sony Corp and Bertelsmann AG. Messages seeking comment left with lawyers for the companies were not immediately returned.
—Agencies