Music Publishers and X Pause Copyright Lawsuit For 90 Days

The music publishers who sued X (formerly known as Twitter) over alleged copyright infringement will attempt to settle out of court.

The case:

• In June 2023, Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music Publishing Group and Warner Chappell Music were joined by Downtown Music, Hipgnosis Songs Group, Kobalt, peermusic, Reservoir Media and others in a lawsuit against X Corp, alleging “rampant infringement of copyrighted music” on X.

• They sought more than $250 million in damages for “hundreds of thousands” of alleged infringements of approximately 1700 works.

• In March 2024, X Corp’s motion to dismiss the case was partially granted by Judge Aleta Trauger of the US District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee.

• As per Music Business Worldwide (MBW), the case was allowed to proceed on three other allegations: That X provided “more lenient copyright enforcement to ‘verified users;’ that it failed to take down infringing materials ‘in a timely manner;’ and that it ‘failed to take reasonable steps in response to severe serial infringers.’”

Pausing the trial:

• As per MBW, on June 6 the publishers and X Corp filed a petition in a Tennessee federal court jointly requesting a pause to legal proceedings to settle the dispute outside of court.

• They have been granted a 90-day stay in proceedings to negotiate a settlement. If successful, the parties will file an appropriate dismissal with the Court.

• The 90-day freeze may be extended if both parties request it.

What they said:

• A spokesman from the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) told MBW: “The intent of the stay is to discuss with X the resolution of the suit and proper compensation to songwriters and publishers for past unlicensed uses, while providing an opportunity for go forward licensing.”