USA: Elon Musk's tenure as CEO of Twitter has been marred by a series of lawsuits from various parties, with the latest and most significant being filed by the National Music Publishers' Association (NMPA), a group representing 17 music publishers. This particular lawsuit is of great significance as the NMPA is seeking approximately $250 million in damages. Let's delve into the details of this new legal battle.

While Twitter has encountered lawsuits in the past, including cases related to unpaid rent, missed payments, and mass layoffs, none of them seemed to have deeply affected Twitter or Elon Musk. However, this time may be different. The NMPA has a history of taking social media companies to court over non-compliance issues.

In their lawsuit filed in the Federal District Court in Nashville, the NMPA accuses Twitter of enabling the sharing of music on its platform without obtaining permission from the copyright holders. According to the complaint, Twitter "sustains its business with numerous infringing copies of musical compositions," thereby violating the rights of publishers and other stakeholders under copyright law.

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It's important to note that the NMPA's concerns regarding Twitter predate Elon Musk's acquisition of the company. The New York Times reported that Twitter was close to finalizing licensing agreements with major music labels such as Universal, Sony, and Warner. However, Musk's acquisition disrupted the negotiations, likely due to the significant financial commitments involved in music rights deals that compensate publishers and labels, which can reach around $100 million annually. It is understandable why Musk opted not to proceed with those agreements.

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The NMPA is suing Twitter for copyright infringement related to approximately 1,700 songs, seeking damages of up to $150,000 for each violation. The complaint highlights that the association has notified Twitter of around 300,000 tweets containing infringing content since December 2021. Despite repeated notices, Twitter allegedly failed to take any action against such tweets. "Twitter permits and encourages infringement," states the complaint.

Furthermore, the lawsuit targets Elon Musk himself by utilizing his own statements against him. It draws attention to several of Musk's tweets criticizing current copyright laws, such as his remark that "current copyright law in general goes absurdly far beyond protecting the original creator" and his description of the "overzealous" Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) as a "plague on humanity."

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The complaint specifically focuses on music videos, live performance videos, and other videos featuring copyrighted music. It argues that by allowing infringing content on its platform, Twitter attracts and retains users. The NMPA also points out that other social media platforms like TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat have successfully reached agreements with publishers.