Big Law
Court Holds Bang Liable For Universal Music Copyright Infringement
A US judge has ruled by summary judgement that energy drink Bang is liable for copyright infringement for including Universal Music controlled tracks in its promotional videos on TikTok without licence. However, the same judge declined to hold Bang and its parent company Vital Pharmaceuticals liable for unlicensed music in videos posted by TikTok influencers that they worked with.
There have been a few lawsuits in the last year over brands using unlicensed music in promotional videos posted to social media. In some cases those brands are under the impression that their videos are covered by the music licences secured by platforms like TikTok. But they are not, the platform licences only covering non-commercial user-generated content.
