X and music publisher reach settlement in three-year copyright dispute
In June 2023,
X and Music Publishers Settle Three-Year Copyright Clash After SpaceX IPO * TorrentFreak
https://torrentfreak.com/x-and-music-publishers-settle-three-year-copyright-clash-after-spacex-ipo/
In June 2023, the NMPA filed a lawsuit against X (then Twitter) seeking $250 million (approximately 37.5 billion yen) in damages, on behalf of several music publishers including Universal Music Group, Concord Music Group, Sony Music Publishing, and Warner Chappell Music. The NMPA argued that X was problematic for neglecting to address user-submitted copyright-infringing content, hosting and streaming copyright-infringing content, and turning a blind eye to users who continued to infringe copyrights while allowing them to continue using the platform.
Twitter is facing a lawsuit from the National Music Publishers Association, seeking approximately 35 billion yen in damages for failing to address tweets infringing on music copyrights - GIGAZINE
X's copyright issues had been a problem even before Elon Musk acquired Twitter, and the NMPA reportedly 'sent weekly copyright infringement notices' since December 2021, before filing the lawsuit. X had asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, but the court partially accepted the NMPA's claim that X 'facilitated copyright infringement' through its paid service 'X Premium,' which allowed users to upload longer videos. The court also rejected X's request to dismiss the NMPA's claim that X 'failed to respond to claims and did not take appropriate action against 'repeated infringers'.'
Then, in January 2026, when the two parties were said to be moving towards a settlement, X filed a lawsuit, alleging that 'more than 12 music publishers and their industry association, the NMPA, conspired to force the platform to purchase industry-wide licenses.' According to X, the NMPA had suspended numerous accounts due to more than 200,000 'unfounded' DMCA notices in total, which X described as 'coercion to force the entire music industry to sign licensing agreements' and 'the weaponization of the DMCA' to enforce licensing agreements.
X sues music labels such as Sony and Universal, claiming they 'excessively weaponized DMCA takedown requests' - GIGAZINE
Furthermore, in a separate lawsuit, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in March 2026 that 'ISPs are not jointly liable for copyright infringement by users of pirated content,' concluding that in order to hold them liable, it is necessary to prove that the service provider intended to infringe copyright, and to prove this, either 'the service provider actively induced the infringing activity' or 'the service had no substantial non-infringing use.' In response, X argued that 'based on this new ruling, it is not legally possible to hold the service provider liable for contributory infringement, and the entire lawsuit should be dismissed,' and applied for dismissal of the lawsuit.
In response to the request to dismiss the lawsuit, the publisher filed a second amended complaint, shifting its focus from 'contributory infringement,' where the publisher knew about the infringing act but substantially supported and encouraged it, to 'induced infringement,' where the publisher actively encouraged copyright infringement. However, Company X criticized this as 'an inadequate attempt at retroactive justification.' On the other hand, the publisher requested that Company X dismiss the antitrust lawsuit, arguing that the evidence was insufficient.
While the escalation of the legal battle had attracted attention, on July 16, 2026, a joint agreement to withdraw the lawsuits on the same terms was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Tennessee and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. This agreement dismissed all claims in both the copyright dispute filed by the NMPA against X and the lawsuit filed by X against the NMPA, and a settlement was reached in which both parties agreed to bear their respective attorney fees and expenses.
The NMPA is seeking $250 million (approximately 37.5 billion yen) in damages, and X has also sought unspecified damages in its lawsuit against the NMPA. However, neither party mentions any compensation in the settlement agreement, and no music licensing agreement has been announced, so it is unclear whether any financial arrangements were made.
Regarding the timing of this settlement, TorrentFreak, which covers copyright-related news, points out that 'SpaceX, which operates X, is scheduled to raise $75 billion (approximately 12 trillion yen) in its initial public offering (IPO) in June 2026, and this settlement, coming just a few weeks later, may have been intended to alleviate the concerns of investors who perceive litigation losses as a serious uncertainty.'
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in Web Service, Posted by log1e_dh