Bertelsmann, media group, has seen the Federal Constitutional Court in Germany rule that a $17 billion (EUR 14.91 billion) lawsuit cannot be filed against the company because it risks breaching the company's rights under the German constitution. The lawsuit is being sought by US music publishers, who are seeking damages for Bertelsmann's involvement with the Napster file-swapping service. The court injunction preventing the lawsuit from being filed is valid for six months. Bertelsmann is accused of prolonging the life of Napster by providing the company with funding in 2000 and 2001 at a time when the rest of the music industry wanted Napster to be shut down. Bertelsmann has argued that it never had any control of Napster's activities and that its support of the company was intended to help transform Napster into a legitimate operation.
