YouTube Overhauls Its Copyright Claim Rules for “Very Short Clips” of Music — Rights Owners May Not Like the Changes

YouTube is making some broad changes to how it handles copyright claims of ‘brief unintentional clips’ of music. The new system is supposed to make the copyright claim system fairer to content creators.   The intention is to stop small bits of music fr…

YouTube Adjusts Copyright Claims Policy: Less Money For Musicians, More Blocked Content

UPDATED: YouTube is changing how some videos with music are claimed by copyright owners. YouTube says it is made the change because of "aggressive manual claiming of very short music clips used in monetized videos." The videos might include very short snippets of music, a song title or song lyrics….

Nintendo Drops The Hammer on YouTube Music Channels — Virtually Guaranteeing an Increase In Piracy

Nintendo is hitting YouTube channels featuring popular game soundtrack with copyright strikes. Many channels are voluntarily shutting down in the wake of the strikes. Several YouTube channels shut down yesterday after Nintendo issued repeated copyright…

Major Labels Blast Cox Communications for ‘Obstruction, Delay and Gamesmanship’ as Legal War Drags On

The legal battle between Cox Communications and major labels UMG, Sony Music, and WMG isn’t ending anytime soon. The ongoing lawsuit, which centers on Cox’s liability (or lack thereof) for its users’ illegal downloads of copyrighted music, began in 201…

Billie Eilish Found Stealing Anime Artwork on Sweatshirts, T-Shirts, Other Merch

After the flat-out copy was detected, Billie Eilish pulled the items from her official merch store. Billie Eilish’s merchandising collaboration with Siberia Hills has created a messy situation. Over the weekend, it came to light that Billie Eilish has …

Lady Gaga Accused of Copyright Infringement on ‘Shallow’ — Based on 3 Notes

A little-known singer-songwriter named Steve Ronsen is threatening to sue music superstar Lady Gaga, saying that her award-wining hit song “Shallow” was copied in part from a song he posted on SoundCloud in 2012. Not only does Lady Gaga deny the charge…

Old Spice Faces Copyright Infringement Lawsuit Over Its Whistle Theme

A composer is accusing Procter & Gamble of using his iconic whistle tune — then stealing it for later use. A lawsuit filed Monday in a California federal court by H. Scott Salinas alleges that P&G copied his tune — and of course, didn’t pay him…

Katy Perry’s Attorneys to Appeal the $2.78 MM ‘Dark Horse’ Verdict — ‘There is no infringement’

Katy Perry, Capitol/UMG, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and other ‘Dark Horse’ contributors will appeal last week’s $2.78 million copyright infringement verdict involving ‘Dark Horse’. Calling the decision a ‘travesty of justice,’ Katy Perry’s attorneys are now…

123 Artists File Amicus Brief in Led Zeppelin’s Closely Watched ‘Stairway to Heaven’ Lawsuit

The Led Zeppelin ‘Stairway to Heaven’ case is complicated, to say the least. It all started back in 2014 when a descendant of Randy Craig Wolfe, former Spirit band member and songwriter, made a ludicrous claim. Led Zeppelin allegedly ripped off Spirit’…

Katy Perry, Capitol Records, Dr. Luke Saddled With $2.7 Million in Copyright Infringement Damages Over ‘Dark Horse’

In a rapid jury deliberation, Katy Perry, her label, Dr. Luke, Max Martin, and Juicy J have been hit with a $2.7 million fine. That was fast. After just two days of deliberations, a federal jury in California has ordered damages of $2.7 million against…