Bit Parts

A federal magistrate for the Northern District of California set aside a default that had been issued against Apple iTunes for failing to respond to a complaint by an artist alleging unauthorized download distribution of music. Sutton v. Apple Computers iTunes, 11-03911. Korvel Sutton, who had been a member of Pretty Boy Gangsters, alleged copyright infringement of his songs on the 1991 album Rollin' Like A Star. Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler found: “Here, Apple's failure to answer or respond to Mr. Sutton's complaint was the result of neglect, not bad faith. According to declarations submitted from several of its employees, Mr. Sutton's complaint was erroneously tagged as a subpoena rather than a complaint, and this error led to the complaint not being timely reviewed by the appropriate persons.” Magistrate Beeler added: “Apple has put forth specific facts supporting two potentially meritorious defenses [that Sutton hadn't contested]. It first contends that a third-party rights holder granted Apple a valid license to promote, sell, and distribute the allegedly infringed works. ' Second, it contends that Mr. Sutton's claim for damages resulting from 'worldwide sales' fails because the United States' copyright laws have no application to extraterritorial infringement.”