US satellite radio types XM have announced that they have reached an out of court settlement with SonyBMG over their Pioneer Inno receiver.
As previously reported, the major record companies weren't too happy with the Inno device because it enables listeners to XM's music services to store tracks that have been played on one of their channels and then play them back on demand like an MP3 player. The labels argued that such a facility meant XM was in essence providing a download service, which wasn't covered by their broadcast licence. XM initially tried to have the case against them dismissed, arguing their service was protected under the 1992 US Audio Home Recording Act, but the courts disagreed and let the litigation continue.
Similar lawsuits from Universal and Warner have already been settled out of court, so the deal with SonyBMG last week isn't too big a surprise, though the specifics of these deals remain confidential.