The spectre of Napster continues to haunt the music industry. A group of music publishers, including the writers of Jailhouse Rock, yesterday filed a $17bn (£10bn) lawsuit against Bertelsmann, the German media group, for its attempt to keep the rogue online music swapping service alive.

The complaint alleges that Bertelsmann contributed to the infringement of their copyrighted work by funding the service with the ultimate aim of turning it into a legitimate business.

Bertelsmann, which now has a markedly different attitude to the internet, ploughed an estimated $85m into the online operation in little more than 18 months. The claim accuses Bertelsmann of subsidising Napster's "unprecedented piracy".

Among the plaintiffs are songwriting duo Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, known for their hits including Jailhouse Rock, Hound Dog and Stand By Me. Two publishing companies, Frank Music and Peer International, are also involved. They are hoping to widen the status of the suit to a class action and are seeking actual damages of at least $17bn.

Thomas Middelhoff, the former Bertelsmann chief executive who had attempted to overhaul the culture of the stodgy, privately owned group, had championed Napster. He was ousted last year.

A Bertelsmann spokesman declined to comment.

Napster filed for bankruptcy in June last year. Three months later an attempt by Bertelsmann to buy the business outright was blocked by the courts.

The judge ruled that the $9m deal was hatched between Napster and Bertelsmann and was not in the best interests of creditors. The intellectual property assets, including the brand name, were eventually sold to Silicon Valley software firm Roxio for $5m. It was an ignominious end for a service that once had 80m users.

Napster was forced offline in 2001 after a judge found in favour of the major record labels which were seeking to close the operation down.

The latest 18-page complaint, filed in New York, alleges that by extending the life of Napster, Bertelsmann allowed greater numbers of copyrighted works to be shared illegally.

It accuses Bertelsmann of "wilful participation" in the "widespread infringement" of music by Napster. It said the company "made a deliberate and calculated business decision to continue the infringing service in order to preserve Napster's valuable user base for Bertelsmann's own benefit."