Record company Sony Music Entertainment filed a lawsuit against USC in the Southern District of New York on March 11 for up to $150,000 per unlicensed piece of music used in over 250 videos posted on various platforms, totaling roughly $42 million. In the lawsuit, the company claimed the University received notices several times since 2021, but failed to obtain licenses and has continued to infringe on copyrighted material.

Don Franzen, a practicing attorney and adjunct professor of music industry focusing on music and law as well as forensic musicology at the UCLA School of Music, said USC is at risk for substantial liability as Sony Music is seeking both actual and statutory damages in this case. Actual damages, in this case, might be the “fair market value of the license material,” while statutory damages are decided by the court “based on consideration of all the factors of the case, including willfulness.”

In a statement to the Daily Trojan, the University wrote that it “respects the intellectual property rights of others and will respond to these allegations in court.”

Sony Music did not respond to the Daily Trojan’s request to comment in time for publication. 

The lawsuit claimed USC chose to willfully “flaunt copyright law” in order to promote its brands, and increase its “auxiliary enterprise’ revenues,” which caused “substantial harm” to Sony Music.

Social media platforms require business accounts to click through the terms of use. On TikTok, before posting a video, a business account must confirm that it either owns all rights to copyrighted music, there is no copyrighted music used or the user has “obtained and paid” for a license for use of the music.

The only exception to using music on social media platforms without a license is if it is fair use, but Franzen said it is a defense that works on a “case-by-case basis.”

“The court is going to look at the nature of the use, whether it’s commercial or noncommercial, whether the underlying work, the work that’s being copied, is protected by copyright,” Franzen said. “USC has not filed their answer yet, so we don’t know what the defenses are going to be, but if one of the defenses is intended to be fair use, that looks very problematic to me.”

Sony Music claimed songs were strategically selected to increase the popularity of videos to “tie USC’s brand to the iconic success of Sony Music artists.” Some songs used, according to the lawsuit, include “Gimme More” by Britney Spears, “Run the World (Girls)” by Beyoncé and “Beat It” by Michael Jackson. The promotional videos are often linked to the University’s website, where tickets to athletic events and merchandise are available for purchase, the lawsuit read.

The lawsuit also alleged USC “exploits” newly released hits when they are at the top of the charts. The record company cited an instance in March 2024 where the University used “Like That” by Future, Metro Boomin and Kendrick Lamar without permission soon after release. 

After the first warning in June 2021, Sony allegedly notified USC again in January 2023 and July 2024. The lawsuit claims that from Aug. 15, 2024, through Jan. 15, the University and record company entered an agreement to “toll the statute of limitations to allow for settlement discussions to continue.”

Under the federal copyright statute of limitations, damages can only be sought for a maximum of three years. Franzen said by USC not signing the tolling agreement, it meant Sony had to “hurry up and file something” to “get as long a period of damage as possible” within the statute.