Twitter is getting sued by pretty much every major music publisher for copyright infringement, with the charge being led by the National Music Publishers’ Association (NMPA), which is a trade association that represents the publishing companies.
Shocking to no one, paying licensing fees for music compositions (one of two copyrights needed for music on platforms) is allegedly not a priority. The New York Times reported back in March that negotiations had stalled.
Oh, but it gets better…
If you have been following Elon, you’ll recall he referred to the “overzealous” DMCA as a “plague on humanity” 🙃
Naturally, that tweet would get included as a screenshot in the complaint!
What’s amazing is that, as of this posting, the tweet remains up on Elon’s timeline.
I was personally waiting for this one to pop up! I specifically remember it was tweeted around the time the GOP was putting out pointless legislation that aimed to decrease copyright terms in an anti-Disney, anti-woke effort.
That same legislation made its way back around in 2023.
The Claims
The first claim is for direct copyright infringement.
The second claim is for contributory copyright infringement, meaning that Twitter knew about the content and continued to host it.
The third claim is for vicarious infringement, meaning Twitter had the ability to control the infringement and benefited from it.
The publishers also note that they’ve been sending notices to Twitter about infringing content and also repeat infringer accounts (which is specifically mentioned in the DMCA as a platform’s obligation to address and shut down those accounts).
What They Want
The music publishers are seeking:
- A declaration that Twitter willfully infringed the compositions
Note: under copyright law, willful infringement means they get higher statutory damages — that $150k per infringed work number that’s making headlines.
- If they can’t get the $150k per work awarded as damages, then they want actual damages (perhaps the lost licensing revenue and more) and Twitter’s profits from the infringement (which is going to be a nightmare to calculate, but would be fun to see!)
- Equitable relief – meaning that the court orders Twitter and all those involved to stop infringing.
- Attorneys fees and costs (normal)
- Interest on any damages awarded (normal)
Keeping Track
Recall that Twitter was hit with a DMCA repeat infringer notice back in December 2022. The latest update on that case is that Twitter filed a motion to dismiss in May 2023.
Twitter is quickly becoming a prime case study, and practical example of risk, for in-house IP teams 🫣 As Andrew Coffman noted, this “looks more like the mid-aughts YouTube litigation than the kind of disputes that are currently being litigated today.”
The case is Concord Music Group, Inc. v. X Corp (3:23-cv-00606), District Court, M.D. TN
Access the docket and complaint over at CourtListener.