December 17, 2007

By By Antony Bruno, Denver

Universal Music Group and XM Satellite Radio have resolved their legal battle over the Pioneer Inno portable satellite receiver.

Under a deal expected to be announced later today, UMG will withdraw the lawsuit it filed against XM last year in return for a multi-year deal that addresses its concerns with the Inno. Exact details of that deal were not disclosed, but it does apply to not only the Inno, but to any other XM device with ?advanced recording functionality? that XM may introduce in the future.

In addition to receiving satellite radio streams, the Inno allows users to save individual songs from the stream and add them to playlists like any other MP3 file at no extra cost. UMG contested this capability was outside the original music licensing deals it struck with XM, and that such ?timeshifting? capabilities were tantamount to a download, thereby resulting in the loss of a potential sale.

While UMG has withdrawn from the suit, XM still faces a legal challenge from the other majors, and hopes to resolve those disputes soon.

"We look forward to continuing our discussions with the other music companies in hopes of reaching a resolution that benefits everyone," says a company spokesman.

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