Month: December 2023

Similar to other user-generated content platforms, X allows people to freely share content online.

This includes text but images, videos, and music are regularly posted as well. In some cases, content is uploaded without first obtaining permission from rightsholders.

Over the years, various parties have called out Twitter/X over alleged copyright infringement. Research published by the EU Intellectual Property Office found that the service is rife with piracy-related discussions. U.S. lawmakers also suggested that piracy is part of the company’s business model.

Music companies have repeatedly complained about X too. Their main gripe is that unlike many other online services, X refuses to license the content shared by its users. As a result, creators are not properly compensated.

Swiss music collective management outfit SUISA Digital is one of these complainants. The organization tried to raise the issue with X’s parent company Twitter International for several months, but the service failed to respond.

SUISA Sues X Seeking Damages

This inaction was a major source of frustration for the music rights group which, as a last resort, decided to take the matter to court. That way, the social media platform would have to respond.

In a complaint filed at the District Court of Munich, Germany, SUISA now accuses X of widespread copyright infringement.

“A considerable number of works in SUISA Digital’s repertoire is available on the X platform and is used by users without Twitter International having acquired a licence from SUISA Digital,” the company explains.

To compensate for the alleged wrongdoing, the music rights group demands monetary compensation. The scale of the damages is unknown at this point as it depends on the infringing uses on X and the related revenue, which SUISA hopes to establish in court.

“Through its lawsuit, SUISA Digital seeks to ensure the authors and publishers it represents are adequately compensated for the ongoing, illegal use of their creative work,” the music group writes.

“That is why, among other things, SUISA Digital demands that Twitter International fully disclose its figures relating to its uses and to the turnover realized with its music offers on the platform X.”

U.S. Mass Copyright Infringement Lawsuit

The German lawsuit isn’t the first music lawsuit faced by X. In the United States, Universal Music, Sony Music, EMI, and others filed a complaint against the company a few months ago, accusing it of “breeding” mass copyright infringement.

According to the American music labels, X fails to properly respond to takedown notices and lacks a proper termination policy for repeat infringers. As a result, the platform is rife with music piracy.

With hundreds of millions of dollars in damages at stake, X is fiercely defending itself. In the U.S. case, it previously asked the court to dismiss all copyright infringement allegations. The court has yet to rule on this request.

These lawsuits make clear that the music industry has lost patience with X. Through they courts, they hope to motivate the company to change but whether it will, largely depends on the outcome of these legal battles.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Googles jüngster Feature Drop für Pixel-Smartphones bringt neben der Gemini-Integration auch den lang ersehnten Video Boost auf das Pixel 8 Pro. (Google, Smartphone)

McDonald's hat eine neue Partnerschaft mit Google angekündigt, um ab 2024 künstliche Intelligenz und maschinelles Lernen in seinen Restaurants einzusetzen. (KI, Google)

Apple soll 2024 neben dem iPad Pro M3 auch aktualisiertes Zubehör wie den Apple Pencil 3 und ein neues Magic Keyboard planen. (iPad Pro, Apple)

Google hat ein neues KI-System namens Alphacode 2 angekündigt, das Code für komplexe Aufgaben erstellen und besser als Durchschnittsentwickler sein soll. (KI, Google)

Volkswagen macht bidirektionales Laden bei ersten E-Autos möglich. Die Funktion Vehicle to Home wandelt E-Autos in Energiespeicher für zu Hause um. (VW, Elektroauto)

Agil und selbstorganisiert an Digitalprojekten arbeiten: Das erwartet IT Professionals und Einsteiger*innen bei der Deutschen Bahn. Einen immer größeren Stellenwert dabei erhält KI, wie Details eines Experten bei der DB zeigen. (Deutsche Bahn, Mobilität)

Einige Google-Drive-Nutzer haben zuletzt Datenverluste beklagt. Ein Recovery-Tool soll Betroffenen nun helfen, die Daten wiederherzustellen. (Google Drive, Google)

Immer häufiger wird Elon Musk Antisemitismus vorgeworfen. Dennoch spielt der Milliardär weiterhin mit gefährlichen Verschwörungsmythen. Eine Analyse von Elke Wittich (Elon Musk, Politik)

Für Unternehmen ist der Schutz ihrer Cloud-Infrastruktur ein zentrales Anliegen. Dieser Workshop der Golem Karrierewelt behandelt die Sicherheitsaspekte von Microsoft Azure. (Golem Karrierewelt, Microsoft)