A federal judge ordered a clone of the now-defunct music streaming service Grooveshark to pay $13.5 million to 10 record labels over a number of claims, including copyright infringement, on Monday.
“The Court hereby orders that Defendants are liable for willful federal trademark counterfeiting and infringement,” U.S. District Judge Alison J. Nathan wrote in the judgment.
A request for injunction filed by the 10 plaintiffs — Arista, Atlantic, Capitol, Elektra, LaFace, Sony, UMG, Warner Bros., Warner Music and Zomba — contended that the Grooveshark mirror site engaged in trademark counterfeiting, unfair competition and false designation of origin, cybersquatting and copyright infringement.
Last May, the original Grooveshark music streaming site was shut down as part of a settlement with the Recording Industry of America. However, within days a clone of the service emerged, giving the RIAA another series of moles to whack, as it disappeared and reappeared across a number of domains.
According to the judgment, no one from the Grooveshark side has appeared in court nor answered the complaint, explaining Nathan’s ex parte judgment in favor of the plaintiffs on all counts.
“Defendants have engaged in willful counterfeiting, trademark infringement and the use of false designations of origin through their adoption, use in commerce and promotion of counterfeit copies and colorable limitations of the Grooveshark Marks in order to mislead and deceive consumers as to source, sponsorship or authorization of a ‘clone’ of the original Grooveshark music streaming service,” the ruling read.
The lion’s share of the judgment was awarded to UMG, which acquired rights to the “Grooveshark” name and related marks in last May’s settlement.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.