Universal Music Group (UMG) has filed a lawsuit against the owner of US Tex-Mex restaurant chain Chili’s for allegedly breaching its copyrights in multiple social media postings, the latest in a string of cases over unlawful use of music in social marketing.
On Tuesday (October 8), record companies and music publishers owned by UMG filed a complaint in a federal court in Dallas, alleging that Chili’s owner Brinker International failed to pay for music used in social media ads on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube.
The case alleged that ABBA, Ariana Grande, Justin Bieber, Nicki Minaj, Shania Twain, and the Spice Girls had violated their publishing and recorded music copyrights. It also included claimed recording copyright breaches on songs by The Weeknd and Lana Del Rey, as well as a publication copyright violation on Free’s All Right Now, among others.
As of mid-2024, Chili’s had 1,214 locations in the United States, the great majority of which were company-owned, and 344 sites outside of the United States, the majority of which were franchises. Brinker reported $4.42 billion in sales for the fiscal year ending June 26, 2024.
The lawsuit included 38 claimed recording copyright breaches and 42 alleged publishing copyright violations. Under US copyright law, the 80 total infringements might result in Brinker being responsible for up to $12 million in statutory damages.
The plaintiffs in the complaint include Capitol Records and UMG Recordings, as well as publishers Universal Music Corp., PolyGram Publishing, Songs of Universal Inc., Universal Music – MGB NA LLC, and Universal Music – Z Tunes LLC.
Brinker is “well aware of [UMG] and their music catalogs,” and has received licensing for some musical compositions, even as recently as 2023. Despite this history and awareness, defendants exploited hundreds of [UMG’s] works without permission or compensation,” according to the lawsuit, which can be read in full here.
The lawsuit identified the alleged infringements as “willful,” and Brinker International as “successful companies promoting multiple restaurant franchises with their own legal departments and protecting their own intellectual property interests.”
UMG said that Brinker has “no effective procedures for ensuring that the social media content posted for their Chili’s commercial restaurant businesses does not violate others’ copyrights.”
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UMG’s action seeks a permanent injunction banning Brinker’s enterprises from using UMG’s music in current or future social media postings, as well as damages “in amounts to be proven at trial.”
The case was filed on the same day that Sony Music Entertainment and Marriott International agreed to withdraw a copyright infringement lawsuit accusing the hotel operator of utilizing Sony music without permission in social media postings.
It was unclear from court filings if Sony and Marriott had achieved an out-of-court resolution. Sony refused to comment on the situation.
Lawsuits involving the improper use of music in social media postings have increased in recent years.
This summer, 14 NBA teams were sued by Kobalt Music Publishing, Artist Publishing Group, and others for allegedly using unauthorized music on their social media platforms and the NBA.com website.
In September, Associated Production Music (APM), a joint venture between Sony Music Publishing and Universal Music Publishing, sued the American Hockey League for claimed “rampant” copyright infringement in their social media postings.
APM also sued Johnson & Johnson last month, alleging that the firm violated copyrights in promotional films broadcast on Facebook and YouTube.
In late 2023, Sony Music sued cosmetics firm OFRA, which has 1.7 million Instagram followers alone, for what it called “blatant, willful, and repeated copyright infringement” of “hundreds” of Sony songs.
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