The National Music Publishers' Association accused Twitter in a lawsuit Wednesday of repeatedly violating copyright law by allowing users to post music to Elon Musk's platform without permission.
Driving the news: "Twitter fuels its business with countless infringing copies of musical compositions, violating Publishers' and others' exclusive rights under copyright law," alleges the NMPA's lawsuit, brought on behalf of 17 music publishers that represent some of the world's biggest artists.
- "Twitter permits and encourages infringement, including of Publishers’ musical compositions, so that it can continue to reap huge profits from the availability of unlicensed music without paying the necessary licensing fees for it," per the lawsuit, filed in Nashville, Tennessee.
Of note: "Twitter's change in ownership in October 2022 has not led to improvements in how it acts with respect to copyright," states the suit, in reference to the Musk-led takeover of the social media company.
- "On the contrary, Twitter's internal affairs regarding matters pertinent to this case are in disarray."
Zoom out: While platforms such as Facebook and YouTube have licensing deals, Twitter does not and this "breeds massive copyright infringement that harms music creators" and gives it "a valuable and unfair advantage over its properly licensed competitors," according to the suit.
What we're watching: The lawsuit seeks up to $250 million in damages for the alleged infringement of some 1,700 songs.
Editor's note: This a breaking news story. Please check back for updates.
