Photo Credit: Prakhar Singh
Just like that, the Sony Music v. Designer Shoe Warehouse (DSW) social media infringement battle has drawn to an abrupt close – though the footwear retailer’s wider copyright clash with the majors isn’t quite finished.
Sony Music (plus a number of its subsidiaries) and DSW parent Designer Brands only recently confirmed the resolution in a joint notice to the court. The concise filing points to a settlement in principle and confirms plans to hammer out the final details during a “negotiation and execution” process.
But as this step appears to be something of a formality, the parties also asked the court to clear the case’s scheduled hearings. With that, it’ll be worth keeping an eye out for the settlement’s specifics – including in the forthcoming earnings reports of the publicly traded Designer Brands (NYSE: DBI).
And as mentioned, despite involving straightforward claims alleging the unauthorized use of music in social media promo videos, the confrontation doesn’t begin and end with Sony Music’s action.
First, Warner Music’s distinct-but-similar complaint against DSW technically remains in motion. However, a settlement conference took place in late July, the docket’s been mostly quiet in the interim, and a lawsuit-ending resolution may well materialize in the near future.
Additionally, the court recently shelved a conference in a third action, submitted this time by DSW in pursuit of a non-infringement declaratory judgment. Once again, a resolution is presumably on the way in light of today’s news; Sony Music itself beat the case earlier in August, but Universal Music and BMG are still aboard as defendants.
What about the legal dust-up’s impact on DSW’s music selections? As many know – and as underscored by a growing pile of suits and settlements – social platforms’ pre-cleared song libraries are approved for personal, not commercial, use.
Consequently, it probably won’t come as a surprise that DSW and plenty of other brands have seemingly opted against complementing their newest TikTok and Instagram uploads with major label hits.
But DSW hasn’t ceased using music altogether. Rather, although the relevant songs are simply classified as “original audio,” most but not all appear to tie back to libraries and labels specializing in social media tracks.
More broadly, evidence suggests that pre-cleared libraries – complete with vast song selections, far quicker turnarounds, and most importantly one-stop licenses covering worldwide uses in perpetuity – are poised to continue picking up steam moving forward.
Leave a Reply