West Berkshire Council recently fell into hot water after publishing a video on social media app TikTok using an unlicenced song from Canadian singer-songwriter Justin Bieber as a backing track.
The video was created to promote the Council’s newsletter and contained a tagline stating ‘If Justin loves it, then you will too’, which appears to be a mere homage referencing the celebrity status of Justin Bieber in order to engage an audience. While the video had not been publicly visible for long, a member of the public noted that the Council had not obtained the correct licencing agreement in order to use the song and warned the Council that it risked facing legal action by keeping the video online. Consequently, the Council removed the video from its TikTok page as soon as it received notice, though notably no action had been taken by Justin Bieber or his legal team at this point.
The Council could have been subject to a copyright infringement claim from the rightsholder of Justin Bieber’s song as it was used without permission. Also, there may have been scope here for a passing off claim from Justin Bieber as the tagline suggests that he endorsed or approved the context of the Council’s video. In such a claim, he would have to prove that there had been a misrepresentation from West Berkshire Council, that has caused the public to confuse its messaging to be associated with Justin Bieber, which has subsequently caused or is likely to cause damage to him. Given that the video was only online for a number of hours and was likely intended to only target members of the West Berkshire parish, it would be difficult to prove such a claim.
In any event, the Council swiftly removed the video and released a statement that clarified that the Council removed the video “as a matter of good practice”, and that the Council does not wish to spend public funds on neither litigation nor obtaining licences when it already enjoys the correct licencing arrangements for royalty-free music. While there may not be much to go off for a potential claim in this instance, the action taken by the Council highlights the need to be commercially aware of any use of copyright works when advertising and adapting works for use in the public eye.
If you have any questions on the above, or if you need any advice or support in respect of your own Intellectual Property, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
