Legal News

Music to Sony’s ears—TuneIn radio app infringes UK copyright (Warner Music UK Ltd and another company v TuneIn, Inc)

Published on: 05 November 2019
Published by a LexisNexis IP expert
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Article summary

IP analysis: The boundaries between what the public can access via the Internet and encroachment upon a copyright owner’s rights have been tested in a number of decisions, both nationally and at the Court of Justice level. The present case tests the boundaries even further in relation to sound recordings and the use of an app that enables a user to select artists and music from different radio stations around the world. At issue was, in essence, whether the copyright owners (Warner Music and Sony) were legitimately entitled to request a royalty fee from TuneIn, in respect of listeners in the UK playing music originating outside of the UK. TuneIn contended that to hold they were obliged to pay a royalty would ‘break the Internet’. What it boiled down to was whether TuneIn ‘targeted’ the UK consumers and so there was a ‘communication to the public’ of a copyright work. Written by Paul...

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