Prominent Businesses Are Being Sued For Using Music In Their TikTok And Instagram Posts
Warner Music Group recently filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against cookie giant Crumbl, characterizing their use of copyrighted material as “massive scale” infringement. Such lawsuits have become commonplace as businesses take more liberties on social media than ever before. The case follows similar lawsuits from other major music companies. For example, Sony Music recently filed a lawsuit against the University of Southern California, and UMG filed a lawsuit against the owner of the U.S. Tex-Mex restaurant chain Chili’s.
The most recent of these lawsuits was filed by Warner Music Group, which filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against U.S. shoe retailer DSW Designer Shoe Warehouse and its parent company, Designer Brands Inc. The suit accuses DSW of having “misappropriated over two hundred” of Warner’s recordings and compositions in TikTok and Instagram posts and via paid partnerships with social media influencers. Warner is now seeking statutory damages up to the maximum amount of $150,000 per infringed music work. DSW has been accused of infringing over 200 tracks. The damages sought could exceed $30 million.
In the lawsuit, DSW is described as “one of North America’s largest designers, producers, and retailers of footwear and accessories. The company was founded in 1969. Warner’s complaint alleges that “during its 55-year history, DSW has repeatedly licensed music for promoting its brand and products in TV commercials. According to the lawsuit, which was filed in Ohio on May 1, DSW infringed more than 200 “popular and valuable music works” in social media posts by “using these music works to attract attention to the DSW videos, drive sales to DSW, and build DSW’s brand awareness and profile.
DSW is accused of infringing upon what Warner Music Group described as “some of the most popular sound recordings and musical compositions in the world.” Warner claims that DSW used tracks such as Up by Cardi B, Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, About Damn Time by Lizzo, Hung Up by Madonna, and Work It by Missy Elliot in social media posts without a license.
“‘DSW not only failed to pay for the use of Plaintiffs’ Works, but by including these musical works in their promotional materials without Plaintiffs’ consent, DSW deprived Plaintiffs and the recording artists and songwriters that Plaintiffs represent of the ability to control how and where their musical works are used,” the lawsuit stated. “Knowing that popular music is the best way to capture the attention of its targeted audience, DSW and its social media influencers have incorporated many of Plaintiffs’ most valuable musical works into marketing and advertising videos for DSW’s products. These videos … are an integral part of DSW’s promotional, marketing, and branding strategy. DSW distributes the DSW Videos to the public via the various accounts that it maintains on a variety of social media platforms.”
It remains a copyright violation to use copyrighted material to hawk your products on social media.
Talk to a Columbus, OH Copyright Infringement Attorney Today
Kohl & Cook Law Firm, LLC can help you file a copyright infringement lawsuit or defend yourself from a copyright infringement lawsuit. Call our Columbus civil litigation lawyers today to schedule an appointment, and we can begin discussing your next steps right away.
