XM Satellite Radio's subscription digital download service allows customers to digitally copy songs and therefore infringes on the copyrights of members of the National Music Publishers Association, according to a lawsuit filed in a New York federal court by the NMPA last Thursday.

Famous Music, Warner/Chappell, Sony/ATV and EMI allege in the lawsuit that XM's download service, XM + MP3, is unlawful, in that it delivers perfect digital copies of copyrighted songs to subscribers, writes Mediaweek (via MediaBuyerPlanner). Through the service, subscribers can download songs to their MP3 players and save them for as long as they remain XM subscribers.

The lawsuit seeks $150,000 in statutory damages for each work infringed upon. The suit listed some 175 songs, and claims that number is a small fraction of those being illegally distributed. XM does pay royalties for the performance of songs, but copyright holders say that the royalties were not meant to cover digital recordings.

Earlier this year, in an RIAA suit, a federal judge ruled against XM on its claim that the Audio Home Recording Act gave the company immunity from following copyright law.