TEL AVIV, ISRAEL, May 18, 2010 — Waves Audio, a leading provider of digital signal processing solutions, 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 following statements were issued:
“This is a tremendous victory for the studio recording industry and Waves in particular,” said Waves' attorney, Mr. Guy H. Weiss, of the international business law firm Adorno & Yoss, LLC. “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,” Mr. Weiss explained. “In the Reckless d.b.a. Skyline case, the jury found that Waves had valid copyrights and that the defendant infringed on those copyrights. The law is clear: A recording studio is responsible for the copyright infringement committed by its employees, independent contractors or customers.”
Accordingly, the Honorable James C. Francis, IV, United Sates Magistrate Judge for the Southern Federal District Court of New York, instructed the Jury, “[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.”
Weiss continued, “Thus, Skyline could not rely on the defense that it did not know that its employees, engineers or customers were using cracked software. It had an absolute duty to stop the copyright infringement committed in its studios. In the Quad Studios case, the defendant admitted liability. At settlement, Quad's owner committed to run a 100% crack free studio in the future.”
“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,” stated Gilad Keren, CEO of Waves Ltd. “In the long-term, illegal software does not benefit anyone, as it hurts not just Waves, but all developers and manufacturers of software products including their distributors, retail partners and of course, loyal customers who have purchased legitimate, legal versions of the product. We consider a lawsuit the very last resort, but unfortunately it is a course of action that can protect our intellectual property and ensure that we can continue to develop and bring to market the right tools for the recording, broadcast and post-production industries.”
For more information, please visit www.waves.com.