Ford Moves to Dismiss Music Royalties Class Action Lawsuit

Ford Motor Co. and Clarion Corp. of America have filed a motion to dismiss a music royalties class action lawsuit arguing that the Clarion navigation system installed in Ford cars do not fall under the jurisdiction of the Audio Home Recording Act (AHRA).

This Ford class action lawsuit filed in D.C. federal court by the Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies Inc. (AARC) alleges the Ford and Clarion navigational device reproduces “digital music recordings” by allowing car owners to upload music to the car’s music system.

However, Ford and Clarion disagree, claiming that the navigational device found in Ford vehicles only allow car owners to copy their personal CDs to the navigational system/car music system’s hard drive and does not strictly fall under the AHRA’s meaning of digital music recordings.

According to the Ford music royalties class action lawsuit, Ford and Clarion argue, “Because [the navigation system] records CDs only to its own hard drive, any music fixed on the hard drive is not a digital musical recording as the statute defines that term.” The defending companies further claim the AHRA’s definition of digital music recordings does not include or extend to material objects with fixed computer programs or fixed, nonaudio data, like Clarion’s navigational system.

Ford and Clarion argue that because the navigational systems have a fixed computer system and nonaudio data program, then by the AHRA’s definition these Clarion systems are not capable of producing copies of digital music recordings.

The AARC filed this music royalties class action lawsuit in July against Ford, Clarion, Denso International America Inc. and General Motors LLC, alleging these companies violated the AHRA by distributing and/or installing navigational systems that act as music-copying devices that have not been registered with the U.S. Copyright Office, do not contain serial copy management systems, and do not pay royalties for said systems.

According to AARC’s arguments in this Ford class action lawsuit, the association alleges, “These [navigational system] devices clearly fall within the scope of the AHRA. Certain other manufacturers that distribute the same type of in-vehicle CD-copying devices acknowledge that such devices are subject to the AHRA.” The AARC is seeking a permanent injunction on the Clarion systems from being distributed or installed in Ford vehicles, as well as payment of actual and statutory damages for royalties through the last three years.

In response, Ford and Clarion argued: “Based on the leading Ninth Circuit case on the issue, computer hard drives are squarely outside the reach of the statute.” In the 1999 music royalties lawsuit Recording Industry Association of America v. Diamond Multimedia Systems Inc., the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that MP3 players could not be considered digital audio recording devices under the AHRA’s definition. Ford argues that this landmark decision should also extend to their navigational systems.

The court has not yet made a decision on the claims in this Ford music royalties class action lawsuit.

AARC is represented by Dustin Cho and Jonathan Sperling of Covington & Burling LLP.

The Ford Music Royalties Class Action Lawsuit is Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies Inc. v. General Motors Company, et al., Case No. 1:14-cv-01271, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.