Twitter Intl hit with suit by music licensing firm
Digital licensing company seeks ‘fair compensation’ for songwriters, composers, and publishers represented by the organisation | Legal action follows six months of unsuccessful negotiations.
Music rights firm SUISA Digital Licensing has filed a lawsuit against Twitter International, the parent company of X, for not compensating creators for the use of their music in videos on the social media platform.
The Swiss company filed the complaint in the Munich I District Court on Wednesday, December 6, claiming that Twitter’s X infringed the copyright of a plethora of songs.
The legal action follows more than six months of unsuccessful attempts by the SUISA Digital to secure licensing agreements with Twitter for the use of unlicensed music on X.
Elon Musk owns about 79% of Twitter. In July 2023, Musk rebranded Twitter as X, replacing the blue bird logo with the letter.
A ‘resolute action’
CEO of SUISA Digital, Fabian Niggemeier, said in a press release that the company “is using all of the resources at its disposal to defend the interests of authors and publishers it represents and is taking resolute action against the illegal use of music”.
“This is the only way we can effectively represent the interests of authors and publishers and ensure that they are compensated fairly by Twitter International," he added.
Twitter International was allegedly unresponsive to negotiations, prompting SUISA Digital to take legal action.
The platform is accused of using a “considerable number” of works from SUISA Digital's collection on the X platform without obtaining the necessary licences. Details of the works and their creators were unavailable at the time of going to press.
The complaint comes just months after the National Music Publishers’ Association ( NMPA), which represents labels such as Universal, Sony and EMI, accused Twitter of infringing the compositions of hundreds of songs by allowing its users to post music to the platform without permission.
SUISA Digital represents more than 80,000 songwriters, composers and publishers, and its repertoire comprises approximately 10 million works.
Demand for ‘full disclosure’ of figures
SUISA Digital, in collaboration with Mint Digital Services—a joint venture with SESAC, a US music rights organisation—administers licensing agreements with SESAC to more than 80 digital music providers globally.
Despite these efforts, the platform allegedly continued to use music without compensating the rightful owners.
Alexander Wolf, president of SESAC International, commented: “SUISA Digital has our full backing in its lawsuit against Twitter.
“Twitter has benefited from the creative work of authors and publishers for years. We expect Twitter International to recognise the value of the work,” he continued.
The lawsuit demands full disclosure of figures related to X’s music usage and turnover on the platform.
SUISA Digital's legal representation is handled by the law firm Lausen Rechtsanwälte.
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