To Enforce or Not to Enforce? Leslie Jones and Twitter’s DMCA Policies

On Twitter, the question for copyright holders is not how to enforce their rights under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), but whether to enforce them. Specifically, on Twitter, copyright holders can report any violations under the DMCA, and penalties for violations range from having the content removed to a permanent ban from Twitter. With having a presence on social media only becoming increasingly important for copyright holders, it has proven critical for these holders to strike a balance between protecting their rights and giving some leeway to users. Often, allowing users to have the latitude to use copyrighted material only promotes the holder’s product, either directly or indirectly. Accordingly, some copyright holders have decided that it’s sometimes better to “join them” rather than to “beat them,” as it relates to users who technically violate DMCA rules. A strong example of this question was Leslie Jones allegedly having some of her posts taken down during the 2022 Winter Olympics. This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal website on February 28, 2022. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above

Peloton Is Climbing The Music Streaming Service Leaderboard After 2020 Settlement with NMPA

In a 2019 statement, Peloton’s co-founders stated their desire to have the company serve as “a discovery resource for new artists and songs while also providing the opportunity for [their] Members to re-discover music they love.” However, this statement came at a time when many artists and publishers weren’t feeling the love back. In April 2018, the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) sent Peloton a cease and desist letter in response to Peloton’s alleged use of particular songs without adequate licensing. At issue was Peloton’s alleged failure to obtain “sync” licenses, which are required when “music is synchronized with [a] visual media output,” for certain songs that were being used in Peloton classes. Subsequently, Peloton took down nearly 6,000 classes that featured the songs in dispute, and NMPA brought a lawsuit against Peloton requesting $150 million in damages, which eventually grew to$300 million. Following the removal of these classes, Peloton was sued by many of its customers for its alleged failure to supply an “ever-growing” library of classes, and the company left a group of its customers “pissed about bad music.” As this lawsuit between NMPA and Peloton progressed, you may have wondered if Peloton, artists, and music publishers would be long-term adversaries in a battle over licensing rights and costs. Fortunately for the artists, publishers, Peloton and Peloton Members, this has not been the case. This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal website on November 10, 2021. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above

To Enforce or Not to Enforce? Leslie Jones and Twitter’s DMCA Policies

On Twitter, the question for copyright holders is not how to enforce their rights under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), but whether to enforce them. Specifically, on Twitter, copyright holders can report any violations under the DMCA, and penalties for violations range from having the content removed to a permanent ban from Twitter. With having a presence on social media only becoming increasingly important for copyright holders, it has proven critical for these holders to strike a balance between protecting their rights and giving some leeway to users. Often, allowing users to have the latitude to use copyrighted material only promotes the holder’s product, either directly or indirectly. Accordingly, some copyright holders have decided that it’s sometimes better to “join them” rather than to “beat them,” as it relates to users who technically violate DMCA rules. A strong example of this question was Leslie Jones allegedly having some of her posts taken down during the 2022 Winter Olympics. This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal website on February 28, 2022. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above

Peloton Is Climbing The Music Streaming Service Leaderboard After 2020 Settlement with NMPA

In a 2019 statement, Peloton’s co-founders stated their desire to have the company serve as “a discovery resource for new artists and songs while also providing the opportunity for [their] Members to re-discover music they love.” However, this statement came at a time when many artists and publishers weren’t feeling the love back. In April 2018, the National Music Publishers Association (NMPA) sent Peloton a cease and desist letter in response to Peloton’s alleged use of particular songs without adequate licensing. At issue was Peloton’s alleged failure to obtain “sync” licenses, which are required when “music is synchronized with [a] visual media output,” for certain songs that were being used in Peloton classes. Subsequently, Peloton took down nearly 6,000 classes that featured the songs in dispute, and NMPA brought a lawsuit against Peloton requesting $150 million in damages, which eventually grew to$300 million. Following the removal of these classes, Peloton was sued by many of its customers for its alleged failure to supply an “ever-growing” library of classes, and the company left a group of its customers “pissed about bad music.” As this lawsuit between NMPA and Peloton progressed, you may have wondered if Peloton, artists, and music publishers would be long-term adversaries in a battle over licensing rights and costs. Fortunately for the artists, publishers, Peloton and Peloton Members, this has not been the case. This post was originally published on the Cardozo Arts & Entertainment Law Journal website on November 10, 2021. The original post can be accessed via the Archived Link button above