The social media platform, X (formerly known as Twitter), has filed an application to dismiss a lawsuit which was filed against it by a coalition of major music publishing companies back in June. X stands accused of wide-spread copyright infringement by giants of the music industry including Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Group, Warner Chappell, and BMG among others.
The claimants are seeking over £196 million ($250 million) in damages for alleged infringements of over 1,700 pieces of music. Ordinarily, social media platforms negotiate licensing agreements with music copyright holders, as is the case with platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat and Instagram. However, X is yet to enter into any such licencing agreement.
In its first official response to the original claim, X claimed that the publishers “do not allege that X encouraged, induced, or intended to foster the infringement of the Plaintiffs’ works,” further stating that “no liability can be established on the facts as pleaded”.
In a statement of 15 August, CEO of the National Music Publishers’ Association, David Israelite, said of the filing, “X’s response is par for the course – another attempt to deny the fact that they have consistently failed to stop or even slow the rampant piracy on their platform”.
It is to be seen if X will prevail or if the court will side with the publishers.
If you have any questions on the above, please do not hesitate to contact the team at McDaniels Law on 0191 281 4000 or legal@mcdanielslaw.com.
