It appears Google is about to lock legal horns with the US music industry over one of its Google apps called MP3 Music Download Pro. It appears that this particular application is designed to download copyrighted material, but the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) objected to its use. The latter decided to ask Google to remove the application from the Android Market but Google has refused to do so.
I believe in August the RIAA sent what’s called a takedown notice. A spokesperson for the RIAA told itproportal.com “[The application] is clearly being used for illegal purposes, and Google responded that they were declining to remove it from the Android Market.”
I must say that this rather surprises me. Google generally responds well when there is a serious request. For example, an app that was deemed inappropriate by many people earlier this year was removed after pressure was brought to bear.
Despite all the problems associated with copyright infringement in the music and entertainment industry, I would have expected Google to comply. However, it seems the company is sticking to its guns.
What’s even more odd about this is Google have in the past removed music apps, although others do reappear later. The RIAA spokesperson added: “…too many apps created to harvest links to unauthorised files remain available and popular on the Android marketplace, resulting in widespread infringement of copyrighted works.”
Whether Google and the RIAA end up in court is too early to say. The latter has not confirmed what it intends doing.
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