The plaintiffs Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Music Entertainment US Latin LLC, Zomba Recording LLC, Arista Music, La Face Records LLC, Records Label LLC and The Century Media Family Inc. (collectively, Sony Music) are attacking Gymshark Limited for its allegedly illegal the use of copyrighted songs in advertisements for its fitness clothing and accessories on social media platforms. The lawsuit against Gymshark, headquartered in Solihull, England, was filed Thursday in the Central District of California.
The record explained that the defendant had misappropriated hundreds of prominent and valuable sound recordings to sell its products. As a result, its “large-scale” copyright infringement was carried out through “advertisements” made by Gymshark and posted on outlets like Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.
Typically, his videos, which are produced by the Respondent himself or by hired “influencers” – individuals with many social media followers – “depict athletes wearing one or more of the Gymshark products while they are exercise or dance, synchronized to an audio track from a popular commercial film. – sound recording available ”, indicates the file. Gymshark abused copyrighted music from award-winning artists including Beyoncé, The Chainsmokers, Justin Timberlake, A $ AP Ferg, Usher, Future and Calvin Harris, according to an exhibit.
In addition, Sony Music maintains that Gymshark’s violations are undoubtedly intentional, as the social media platforms on which Gymshark posts the infringing content explicitly state that users cannot infringement music, especially in the course of activities. commercial. The complaint also alleges that Gymshark approached Sony Music in late 2020 to obtain a license for part of a song. Although Sony agreed to do so in exchange for compensation, Gymshark would never have followed through and used the music anyway.
In turn, this week’s case alleges three counts of federal copyright infringement, contribution infringement and vicarious infringement. The plaintiffs seek an injunction, real damages, as well as the fees and expenses of their lawyers. Sidley Austin LLP is representing Sony Music in this matter.
