Capitol Records sues Vimeo over lip-syncing videos

If you like to upload videos of yourself lip-syncing to some of your favorite songs, know this: A new lawsuit is trying to accuse you of committing an illegal act.

According to a recent report on Tone Deaf, Capitol Records is accusing video sharing site Vimeo of breaching copyright by allowing users to upload lip-syncing videos.

Vimeo argues that it is complying with the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), which exempts it from copyright infringement charges as long as the company takes down offending content when asked by artists or their labels. But Capitol Records charges that Vimeo is actively encouraging the posting of videos that it should be focusing on removing.

The evidence? According to Capitol Records, at least 55 of the offending videos are not protected by the DMCA because Vimeo employees allegedly "liked' or shared them on social networks, implying that they support the contents.

Vimeo, meanwhile, says that these actions do not constitute knowledge of an infringing video.

This is yet another in a series of similar lawsuits filed by record companies against sharing websites. Recently, a group of music publishers filed a suit against Fullscreen, a company that promotes YouTube content. Focusing on cover songs performed by amateur artists, the publishers argued that these videos violate the rights of artists and infringe on publisher copyright.

The sharing of digital music often leads to lawsuits among businesses. They need to work with an attorney with experience in business and entertainment law in order to settle these disputes. A Phoenix business attorney can provide this knowledge.

Categorised in: Entertainment Law

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