Picking up on the previously reported copyright owners threat of suits against YouTube, the Universal Music Group is now filing lawsuits against similar file-sharing sites Grouper and Bolt, for letting users swap pirated versions of its musicians' videos (see
the NY Times here), Universal claims damages of $150,000 for each infraction and costs.
Bolt's chief executive says that it takes down copyrighted material as soon as it is notified. It also seeks a licensing agreement with Universal Music. No word as yet from Grouper.
This suit raises the question of whether it is enough to claim lack of knowledge that an item is copyrighted and if removing it is sufficient response.