Music Publishers Move to Reopen Lawsuit Against the NBA

Independent publisher, Artist Publishing Group, and a series of other music publishers are seeking to reopen a recent copyright infringement lawsuit against the National Basketball Association (NBA). The claim alleges that 14 teams in the league used protected music in social media videos without permission.

What’s happening:

• The case was previously settled on May 29.

• On October 31, plaintiff Jonna Johnson filed a motion to vacate the court’s dismissal, due to new evidence of fraud, misrepresentation, and misconduct.

• It is not clear when this new evidence was gathered, as the case was settled before the main discovery phase.

What they said:

• The plaintiffs: “The extraordinary public interest nature of this case—linking private music-publishing control to publicly funded sports franchises—warrants judicial review to prevent ongoing harm and preserve confidence in the judicial process. For the foregoing reasons, [plaintiffs hope] that this court [will] grant relief […], reopen the case, and vacate the prior dismissal to address the fraud and concealment that undermined the integrity of these coordinated proceedings.”