AARC Unfazed by Automakers’ Denials of Audio Home Recording Act Violations
The Alliance of Artists and Recording Companies (AARC) is unfazed by the denials of Ford and General Motors and their respective suppliers Clarion and Denso that their car infotainment products fall within the scope of the Audio Home Recording Act…
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(AHRA), Linda Bocchi, AARC’s executive director, told us Wednesday in an emailed statement. Ford and Clarion filed a joint motion of dismissal, while GM and Denso each filed counterclaims seeking declaratory judgments that their products don’t violate the AHRA and that they’re therefore not obligated to pay royalties under the AHRA. All four companies argued that the CD-copying hard drives marketed with their car infotainment systems are not serial-copying digital audio recording devices as defined under the AHRA 1410140084. But "in their many pages of filings, defendants fail to explain why they should get all the protections and benefits of the Audio Home Recording Act without paying the royalties the statute also requires," said Bocchi. "Their motion to dismiss is unconvincing and we expect it to be denied. And their indefensible, continued refusal to pay what they owe artists, songwriters, and copyright owners under the law is yet more evidence why this litigation is a necessary last resort." AARC sued the automakers and their suppliers in late July in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.