NEW YORK – Waves Audio recently won one lawsuit and had a defendant admit liability in a second lawsuit regarding intellectual property infringements and the illegal use of its software. The two studios named were New York City-based Reckless Music, LLC, d.b.a. Skyline Recording Studios NYC, and Quad Recording Studios, Inc.
"The Courts are serious about protecting the rights of copyright holders, whether they are singers and musicians, or the software companies that allow the recording industry to mix and record their music," said Waves' attorney, Guy H. Weiss, of the international business law firm Adorno & Yoss, LLC.
"In the Reckless d.b.a. Skyline case, the jury found that Waves had valid copyrights and that the defendant infringed on those copyrights," Weiss added. "The law is clear: A recording studio is responsible for the copyright infringement committed by its employees, independent contractors or customers."
The U.S. District Court judge, James C. Francis, IV, instructed the jury that a "person is liable for copyright infringement by another if the person has a financial interest and the right and ability to supervise the infringing activity, whether or not the person knew of the infringement."
"Skyline could not rely on the defense that it did not know that its employees, engineers or customers were using cracked software," Weiss noted. "It had an absolute duty to stop the copyright infringement committed in its studios.
"In the Quad Studios case," Weiss added, "the defendant admitted liability. At settlement, Quad's owner committed to run a 100 percent crack free studio in the future."
Although Gilad Keren, CEO of Waves Ltd., noted that a lawsuit is a "last resort," Keren added that "the judgments obtained in these two court cases should send a targeted message to all users of illegal software that Waves is very serious about defending its rights and will continue to fight against the use of cracked software."
For more information, please visit www.waves.com .
