Apple hit with another lawsuit claiming iTunes music piracy

A new lawsuit alleging that Apple is engaged in "flagrant" music piracy on iTunes was levied on Wednesday, following at least two identical cases lodged by the same entities.

The complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, follows a series of similar lawsuits claiming that Apple is profiting from illegally reproduced copyrighted music being sold on iTunes, including one that was lodged on April 22.

This new suit names several plaintiffs who have filed past complaints against Apple, such as SA Music, The Harold Arlen Trust, Ray Henderson Music Company and Four Jays Music Company.

As in past complaints, the suit claims that Apple is selling musical compositions on iTunes that were illegally re-recorded from physical copies by music distribution companies without the proper mechanical licenses.

In this case, the lawsuit claims that Ideal Music and Genepool Distribution worked together to get pirated musical compositions into iTunes, saying that the two companies, along with Apple, are "jointly and severally liable as members of a distinct distribution chain."

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit together wrote hundreds of popular songs and jazz standards, including "Over the Rainbow" by Harold Arlen, "I Only Have Eyes for You" by Harry Warren, and "It All Depends on You" by Ray Henderson.

They're seeking damages and legal fees, as well as a permanent injunction on the defendants from infringing on the copyrighted material.

SA Music v Apple - April 2020 by Mikey Campbell on Scribd

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8 Comments

rob53 13 Years · 3313 comments

About 4 years ago

I can get just about any song on youtube and other sites for free. Why aren't these people going after youtube and the others?

david | dahoveed 14 Years · 26 comments

Is this the darts approach to the law? Keep throwing darts until one of them hits something? If these are taken seriously by the courts, Apple will file to have them combined into one case before one court.

tommikele 12 Years · 599 comments

david | dahoveed said:

Is this the darts approach to the law? Keep throwing darts until one of them hits something? If these are taken seriously by the courts, Apple will file to have them combined into one case before one court.

Actually, it’s not the darts approach. It’s called "I own the songs and you are part of a chain of illegal distribution. I want the money." The only question here for Apple is will they be held jointly and or separately libel once the ownership rights are established. The law is hazy on establishing liability in a supply chain like this. Apple may be able to establish they had no reason or evidence to doubt distributors right to sell the music and get out from under. Otherwise it will cost them the profits and the plaintiffs will look for punitive damages. That's the big money if you can get it from a set of deep pockets. Doubtful, but worth a try. This claim will be taken quite seriously by the courts as it should be. It's an intellectual property case. The gentle outrage is amusing since I bet you’ve expressed plenty of it when Apple says someone else is stealing their IP. Did you ever know anyone who made their living as a musician or writer or artist and found their work being sold illegally or pirated? I do. I am married to a pretty successful writer.

Punultimate 4 Years · 9 comments

tommikele said:

david | dahoveed said:

Is this the darts approach to the law? Keep throwing darts until one of them hits something? If these are taken seriously by the courts, Apple will file to have them combined into one case before one court.

Actually, it’s not the darts approach. It’s called "I own the songs and you are part of a chain of illegal distribution. I want the money." The only question here for Apple is will they be held jointly and or separately libel once the ownership rights are established. The law is hazy on establishing liability in a supply chain like this. Apple may be able to establish they had no reason or evidence to doubt distributors right to sell the music and get out from under. Otherwise it will cost them the profits and the plaintiffs will look for punitive damages. That's the big money if you can get it from a set of deep pockets. Doubtful, but worth a try. This claim will be taken quite seriously by the courts as it should be. It's an intellectual property case. The gentle outrage is amusing since I bet you’ve expressed plenty of it when Apple says someone else is stealing their IP. Did you ever know anyone who made their living as a musician or writer or artist and found their work being sold illegally or pirated? I do. I am married to a pretty successful writer.

It's interesting how you have such in depth knowledge around the guilt in a case that was only recently filed and feel so assured that Apple is at fault. The music industry is a spider web of licensing, cross licensing, where rights and frequently sold and acquired, regardless of who originally wrote the music. Sounds like you just don't seem to be a fan of Apple yourself from your tone.

fred1 11 Years · 1134 comments

“The plaintiffs in the lawsuit together wrote hundreds of popular songs and jazz standards, including "Over the Rainbow" by Harold Arlen, "I Only Have Eyes for You" by Harry Warren, and "It All Depends on You" by Ray Henderson.“

These composers do deserve a lot of credit, and maybe even compensation, if they can be plaintiffs in a lawsuit when they’ve been dead for 30 or 40 years!