The National Music Publisher’s Association (NMPA) which represents music publishers and songwriters has become the latest body to bring a case against file swapping services. The NMPA is claiming that such services are guilty of copyright infringement.

The suit has been brought against MusicCity, Grokster and Empowerment which provide users with the facility to trade music and non-music files through peer-to-peer (P2) networks. MusicCity and Grokster were also named in a recent suit brought by the RIAA and MPAA.

In September of this year, the NMPA struck a deal with Napster in which Napster agreed to pay $26 million to settle the dispute. The agreement includes terms under which songwriters and music publishers will license their music to Napster's forthcoming subscription-based service.

MusicCity said that it is “vigorously” defending any lawsuit of this type which may be brought against it.

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