YouTube faces $1 billion lawsuit for copyright infringement

Industry heavyweight Irving Azoff recently demanded YouTube remove 20,000 videos, featuring music by artists such as The Eagles, Pharrell Williams and John Lennon, or face a billion dollar lawsuit. The Hollywood Reporter says Azoff, acting as a representative for dozens of music superstars through a legal group known as Global Music Rights (GMR), has told the video hosting website that it does not carry the performance rights for thousands of songs by about 40 of his clients.

Google, owner of YouTube, claims that it has completed all of the necessary licensing. The songs in question were previously handled by performance rights groups such as ASCPA and BMI. Consent decrees handed down by the Justice Department subjected the music to a blanket license agreement anytime YouTube requested one. Google claims that the multiyear licenses remain active, regardless of whether a songwriter withdraws in the middle of the licensing term. 

Global Music Rights states that such assertions are false. "Obviously, if YouTube contends that it has properly licensed any of the songs for public broadcast, a contention we believe to be untrue, demand is hereby made that we be furnished with documentation of such licenses," stated GMR's outside lawyer, Howard King.

Google quickly fired back with a letter from their lawyer, David Kramer, who demanded that GMR submit statements under penalty of perjury that it is authorized to act on behalf of the song owners, and to identify the works it takes issue with, including the URL where the material is located.

The threat of a lawsuit comes on the heels of YouTube's announcement that it plans on launching a subscription service to complete with music streaming sites such as Spotify and Pandora. 

It is essential to ensure that the nuances of copyright law are understood before entering into deals to avoid unnecessary litigation. If your work involves intellectual property laws, consult with a business attorney as soon as possible to ensure you are protected.

Categorised in: Intellectual Property Law

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