Rock band Bon Jovi’s new album will hit stores this week after a federal judge denied a firm’s request to delay its release.
Universal Music Group, which will release “Bounce” on Wednesday, is being sued by DownloadCard Inc., a New York company that markets the technology behind online promotional programs.
At issue is a program, called “American XS,” that was launched Sept. 16 by Universal Music and will accompany the “Bounce” CD. DownloadCard argues the promotional material is “precisely the program” it created and offered to Universal.
Every CD of “Bounce” will come with a unique PIN code that the buyer can use to register at the band’s Web site. Then, after providing personal information including age, gender and location, the owner will be regularly notified by e-mail of “Bon Jovi exclusives.”
On Friday, a U.S. District Court judge in New York denied DownloadCard’s request for a preliminary injunction. The judge also ruled that the company failed to show any hardships it might suffer as a result of the CD release would outweigh the hardship Universal Music and Bon Jovi would suffer from its delay.
The judge, however, did rule that DownloadCard raised serious enough questions for a jury to decide at trial.