Magazine Publishers Resisting Napsterization

By Eriq Gardner

A copyright infringement lawsuit against Mygazines.com, a novel web service that let users upload digital copies of magazines for others to read, has been quietly settled.

Many of the media industry's largest consumer and trade publications sued the "Napster of publishing" on August 20th. Mygazines was based in the Caribbean island of Anguilla and some speculated that it might be shielded from U.S. Copyright laws. However, the plaintiffs figured out some of the company's weak spots: Its founder was a Canadian citizen and the plaintiffs, represented by Davis Wright Tremaine, filed lawsuits in New York and Canada, asking courts to file restraining orders on various ISPs from "reproducing, hosting, distributing, and displaying the infringing content."

Rather than pursue a defense, the owner of Mygazines apparently quickly capitulated by agreeing to remove all copyrighted content from its website. The case was settled on September 8, according to court documents that both sides have kept very quiet about until now. The company hopes to work with the publishing industry on revenue-sharing opportunities.