EMI, Bertelsmann Settle Napster Suit

British music label EMI and Bertelsmann, the German media company that invested in the original Napster music sharing service, have settled a long-standing copyright infringement lawsuit. EMI joined Universal and a group of music publishers suing Bertelsmann in 2003, saying it should be held liable for music piracy committed by Napster users.

Terms of the settlement were not disclosed, although Bertelsmann previously settled with Universal for $61.22 million. Bertelsmann did not admit any wrongdoing as part of the agreement. "We can now put this matter behind us and continue to pursue the development of new legitimate digital-music business models," said EMI CEO Eric Nicoli in a statement.