When MP3.com first came on the scene, there was a photo on its Web site that industry insiders say may be a fitting icon for the rebel Net music company: Billy Idol giving the recording industry the finger. [News.com]

A federal judge today found that MP3.com willfully infringed the copyrights of Seagram's Universal Music Group, opening the company to enormous potential damages in one of the first trials to address the legal boundaries of Internet music distribution...

MP3.com agreed Tuesday to pay $53.4 million to end its copyright infringement suit with Seagram's Universal Music Group in a deal approved by a federal judge just minutes before a scheduled trial to assess damages in the case. [News.com]

Several U.S. congressmen have introduced new legislation that would legalize the services for which MP3.com faces potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in copyright damages. [News.com]

MP3.com today settled a copyright infringement lawsuit with Time Warner and BMG Entertainment. [News.com]

MP3.com chief executive Michael Robertson took the witness stand today to defend his company against charges of willfully violating record label copyrights to profit from a novel Internet music service. [News.com]

Lawyers for MP3.com tried and failed to turn the tables on Seagram's Universal Music Group in court today, countering charges of copyright infringement with accusations of anti-competitive tactics by the record label. [News.com]

Despite his company's mounting legal troubles, the embattled chief executive of MP3.com today vowed to fight on. [News.com]

While shopping for cat food and dog leashes, customers of Petco Animal Supplies will get an earful of in-store music as part of a deal between the company and MP3.com. [News.com]

As MP3.com moves into the ambient music scene, a battle is raised between new and old media: MP3 vs. Muzak. [News.com]