NASHVILLE (CelebrityAccess) — In a significant legal development, a federal judge in Tennessee has given the green light for a substantial copyright infringement lawsuit against X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, to proceed.
The lawsuit, brought forth by a consortium of music publishers including Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, and Sony Music Publishing, aims to seek damages exceeding $250 million. The plaintiffs allege that X infringed upon approximately 1,800 copyrighted works.
Initially, X’s legal team filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit. However, Judge Trauger only partially granted this motion. In her ruling, she determined that X was not directly involved in the alleged infringement, likening the platform more to a communication tool like a telephone company rather than a content curator like a cable company.
Judge Trauger further upheld X’s stance against the claim of vicarious infringement. She concluded that X’s role in the copyright infringement did not meet the standard for vicarious liability, which typically requires the infringer to act as an employee or agent of the accused.
“While X Corp. undeniably wielded some influence over X/Twitter users, akin to a company providing a valued service, this does not transform users into de facto agents or subordinates,” Judge Trauger stated in her opinion.
However, the judge did rule against X on the count of contributory infringement. She highlighted concerns regarding potential delays in enforcing copyright rules on the social media platform.
“The plaintiffs have alleged the existence of a distinct subset of X/Twitter users who openly and repeatedly posted infringing content, yet X Corp. failed to take reasonable action in response to their actions. While social media operators are not inherently liable for enforcement measures, if X Corp. knowingly allowed ongoing infringement by failing to enforce its policies against certain users, it could be held contributorily liable,” Judge Trauger elaborated in her ruling.
