Universal Music Group has filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against a group of companies their lawyers suspect of distributing unauthorized mixtapes to prisoners.
The companies, including the Centric group and Keefe group, are accused of selling “care packages” for families to send their incarcerated loved ones that contain mixes of songs by artists like Steve Wonder, Eminem, LL Cool J, James Brown, and the Jackson Five.
“The ‘mixtape’ label is frequently a cover for piracy,” Universal said in the lawsuit, adding, “the infringing copies of Plaintiffs’ sound recordings and musical compositions, in which Defendants unlawfully transact and from which they unjustly profit, are contraband personified.”
Universal is demanding the maximum statutory damages of $150,000 for each copyrighted work infringed. Keefe and Centric group have not yet made public comment.
[h/t The Hollywood Reporter]
- How an Alleged Spy Balloon Derailed an Important U.S.-China Meeting
- Effective Altruism Has a Toxic Culture of Sexual Harassment and Abuse, Women Say
- Inside Bolsonaro's Surreal New Life as a Florida Man—and MAGA Darling
- 'Return to Office' Plans Spell Trouble for Working Moms
- 8 Ways to Read More Books—and Why You Should
- Why Aren't Movies Sexy Anymore?
- Column: Elon Musk Should Not Be in Charge of the Night Sky
- How Logan Paul's Crypto Empire Fell Apart
- 80 for Brady May Not Be a Masterpiece. But the World Needs More Movies Like This