IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
Plaintiff,
v.
ECAST, INC. and
NSM MUSIC GROUP, LTD.,
Defendants.
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Case No. 1:05CV01754
Judge Kollar-Kotelly
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FINAL JUDGMENT
WHEREAS, the United States of America filed its Complaint on September 2, 2005,
alleging that defendants Ecast, Inc. ("Ecast") and NSM Music Group, Ltd. ("NSM") entered into
an agreement in violation of Section 1 of the Sherman Act, and plaintiff and defendants, by their
respective attorneys, have consented to the entry of this Final Judgment without trial or
adjudication of any issue of fact or law, and without this Final Judgment constituting any
evidence against, or any admission by, any party regarding any such issue of fact or law;
AND WHEREAS, Ecast and NSM agree to be bound by the provisions of this Final
Judgment pending its approval by this Court;
AND WHEREAS, the essence of this Final Judgment is the prevention of future conduct
by Ecast and NSM that impairs competition in the digital jukebox platform market;
AND WHEREAS, the United States requires Ecast and NSM to agree to certain
procedures and prohibitions for the purpose of preventing the loss of competition;
NOW THEREFORE, before any testimony is taken, without trial or adjudication of any
issue of fact or law, and upon consent of the parties, it is ORDERED, ADJUDGED, AND
DECREED:
I. JURISDICTION
This Court has jurisdiction over the subject matter of and each of the parties to this
action. The Complaint states a claim upon which relief may be granted against Ecast and NSM
under Section 1 of the Sherman Act, as amended, 15 U.S.C. § 1.
II. DEFINITIONS
As used in this Final Judgment:
- "Digital Jukebox" means a commercial vending device that upon payment plays
for public performance digital music files that are delivered electronically from a remote server
and stored on any internal or connected data storage medium.
- "Digital Jukebox Platform Competitor" means any natural person, corporate
entity, partnership, association, or joint venture that has licensed (or that Ecast or NSM knows or
has reason to believe has plans to license) a collection of digital music files from U.S. copyright
holders for the purpose of supplying music content in the United States to a Digital Jukebox.
- "Ecast" means defendant Ecast, Inc., a privately held company organized and
existing under the laws of the State of Delaware, with its principal place of business in San
Francisco, California, its successors and assigns, and its subsidiaries, divisions, groups, affiliates,
partnerships, and joint ventures, and their officers, managers, agents, employees, and directors
acting or claiming to act on its behalf.
- "NSM" means defendant NSM Music Group, Ltd., a company incorporated under
the laws of the United Kingdom, its successors and assigns, and its subsidiaries, divisions,
groups, affiliates, partnerships, and joint ventures, and their officers, managers, agents,
employees, and directors acting or claiming to act on its behalf.
III. APPLICABILITY
This Final Judgment applies to Ecast and NSM, as defined above, and all other persons in
active concert or participation with any of them who receive actual notice of this Final Judgment
by personal service or otherwise.
IV. PROHIBITED AND REQUIRED CONDUCT
- Each defendant, its officers, directors, agents, and employees, acting or claiming
to act on its behalf, and successors and all other persons acting or claiming to act on its behalf,
are enjoined and restrained from directly or indirectly adhering to or enforcing § 4
("EXCLUSIVITY") of defendants' September 2003 "Manufacturing License, Distribution
License and Patent License Agreement," or from in any manner, directly or indirectly, entering
into, continuing, maintaining, or renewing any contractual provision that prohibits NSM from
becoming or limits NSM's ability to become a Digital Jukebox Platform Competitor.
- Each defendant, its officers, directors, agents, and employees,
acting or claiming to act on its behalf, and successors and all other
persons acting or claiming to act on its behalf, are enjoined and
restrained from, in any manner, directly or indirectly, entering into,
continuing, maintaining, or renewing any agreement with any Digital
Jukebox Platform Competitor that prohibits such person from supplying
or limits the ability of such person to supply music content in the
United States to Digital Jukeboxes, provided however, that (a) any
merger or acquisition involving either defendant; (b) any valid license
of U.S. Patent No. 5,341,350 from either defendant to a nonparty;
or (c) any valid license of U.S. Patent No. 5,341,350 from NSM to
Ecast, which does not in any way prohibit NSM from becoming or limit
NSM's ability to become a Digital Jukebox Platform Competitor, will
not be considered, by itself, a violation of this paragraph.
V. COMPLIANCE PROGRAM
- Each defendant shall establish and maintain an antitrust compliance program
which shall include designating, within thirty days of entry of this Final Judgment, an Antitrust
Compliance Officer with responsibility for implementing the antitrust compliance program and
achieving full compliance with this Final Judgment and the antitrust laws. The Antitrust
Compliance Officer shall, on a continuing basis, be responsible for the following:
- furnishing a copy of this Final Judgment within thirty days of entry of the
Final Judgment to each defendant's officers, directors, and employees;
- furnishing within thirty days a copy of this Final Judgment to any person
who succeeds to a position described in Section V.1.a;
- arranging for an annual briefing to each person designated in Section V.1.a
or b on the meaning and requirements of this Final Judgment and the
antitrust laws;
- obtaining from each person designated in Section V.1.a or b certification
that he or she (1) has read and, to the best of his or her ability, understands
and agrees to abide by the terms of this Final Judgment; (2) is not aware of
any violation of the Final Judgment that has not been reported to the
Antitrust Compliance Officer; and (3) understands that any person's
failure to comply with this Final Judgment may result in an enforcement
action for civil or criminal contempt of court against each defendant
and/or any person who violates this Final Judgment;
- maintaining (1) a record of certifications received pursuant to this Section;
(2) a file of all documents related to any alleged violation of this Final
Judgment and the antitrust laws; and (3) a record of all communications
related to any such violation, which shall identify the date and place of the
communication, the persons involved, the subject matter of the
communication, and the results of any related investigation;
- reviewing the content of each e-mail, letter, memorandum, or other
communication to any Digital Jukebox Platform Competitor written by or
on behalf of an officer or director of either defendant that relates to the
recipient's supply of music content in the United States to Digital
Jukeboxes in order to ensure their adherence with this Final Judgment.
- If defendant's Antitrust Compliance Officer learns of any violations of any of the
terms and conditions contained in this Final Judgment, defendant shall immediately take
appropriate action to terminate or modify the activity so as to comply with this Final Judgment.
VI. COMPLIANCE INSPECTION
- For the purposes of determining or securing compliance with this Final Judgment,
or of determining whether the Final Judgment should be modified or vacated, and subject to any
legally recognized privilege, from time to time duly authorized representatives of the United
States Department of Justice, including consultants and other persons retained or designated
thereby, shall, upon written request of a duly authorized representative of the Assistant Attorney
General in charge of the Antitrust Division, and on reasonable written notice to defendants, be
permitted:
- access during defendants' office hours to inspect and copy, or at the
United States' option, to require defendants to provide copies of, all
books, ledgers, accounts, records, and documents in their possession,
custody, or control relating to any matters contained in this Final
Judgment; and
- to interview, either informally or on the record, defendants' officers,
employees, or agents, who may have their individual counsel present,
regarding such matters. The interviews shall be subject to the reasonable
convenience of the interviewee and without restraint or interference by
defendants.
- Upon the written request of a duly authorized representative of the Assistant
Attorney General in charge of the Antitrust Division, defendants shall submit written reports,
under oath if requested, relating to any of the matters contained in this Final Judgment as may be
requested.
- No information or documents obtained by the means provided in this section shall
be divulged by plaintiffs to any person other than an authorized representative of the executive
branch of the United States, except in the course of legal proceedings to which the United States
is a party (including grand jury proceedings), or for the purpose of securing compliance with this
Final Judgment, or as otherwise required by law.
- If at the time defendants furnish information or documents to the United States,
they represent and identify in writing the material in any such information or documents to which
a claim of protection may be asserted under Rule 26(c)(7) of the Federal Rules of Civil
Procedure, and mark each pertinent page of such material, "Subject to claim of protection under
Rule 26(c)(7) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure," then the United States shall use its best
efforts to give defendants ten calendar days notice prior to divulging such material in any legal
proceeding (other than a grand jury proceeding).
VII. RETENTION OF JURISDICTION
This Court retains jurisdiction to enable any party to this Final Judgment to apply to this
Court at any time for further orders and directions as may be necessary or appropriate to carry out
or construe this Final Judgment, to modify any of its provisions, to enforce compliance, and to
punish violations of its provisions.
VIII. EXPIRATION OF FINAL JUDGMENT
Unless this Court grants an extension, this Final Judgment shall expire ten years from the
date of its entry.
IX. NOTICE
For purposes of this Final Judgment, any notice or other communication shall be given to
the persons at the addresses set forth below (or such other addresses as they may specify in
writing to Ecast or NSM):
John Read
Chief
Litigation III Section
U.S. Department Of Justice
Antitrust Division
325 Seventh Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20530
X. PUBLIC INTEREST DETERMINATION
Entry of this Final Judgment is in the public interest.
Dated: ____December 16, 2005______
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Court approved subject to procedures of
Antitrust Procedures and Penalties Act,
15 U.S.C. § 16
_______________/s/________________
United States District Judge
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