Record labels seek ban on Rolling Stones documentaries

A group of major record labels have sued the company behind a series of rock documentaries, which they say use the music of bands such as The Rolling Stones without permission.

The suit was filed on December 30 by Universal Music Group (UMG) and ABKCO, which represent artists including The Rolling Stones, Elton John, U2, and ABBA.

According to the record labels, Coda Publishing has produced a series of unauthorised documentaries about artists. All of the films were directed by Robert Carruthers, who was also named as a defendant in the suit.

The suit claimed that these films were nothing more than a “delivery system” for unlicensed copies of the featured artists’ music.

The films, which include “The Rolling Stones - Big Hits” and “The Rolling Stones - Their Satanic Majesties”, were allegedly available on Amazon Prime and Vimeo.

Neither of these films are currently available on the streaming services. The labels took particular issue with the titles of these films, which they said gave the impression that they were authorised by the band themselves.

UMG and ABKCO issued Coda with cease-and-desist notices related to the films in March 2019.

The record labels said that Coda continued to distribute the films, despite knowing of their infringing activity.

The plaintiffs have asked the court to ban further distribution of the films, as well as order the destruction of all remaining copies.

The labels are also seeking an award of damages of $150,000 per infringement, as well as attorneys’ fees.

Did you enjoy reading this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.

Today's top stories:

Panini cracks down on unauthorised basketball cards

InterDigital reaches settlement with ZTE in 9-year patent dispute

Workday sues Washington State Uni to stop trade secrets leak