A post appeared on X claiming that Eminem was suing Meta for $109 million over copyright infringement issues. It claimed that the Mark Zuckerberg-owned tech giant used 243 songs without permission on reels and remixes across their platform.
Fans started pitting the Mockingbird singer and Zuckerberg against each other, claiming that they are going head-to-head in this legal battle.
Eminem is suing Meta for $109 Million over rampant copyright infringement; using 243 songs on reels and remixes without permission. pic.twitter.com/duccIheUzI
Well, the claim is not entirely true, even though it partly explains a lawsuit that is ongoing in the district court of Michigan. Eminem is not suing Zuckerberg, but the publisher of his songs, Eight Mile Style, is suing Meta for copyright infringement. It’s not a new headline either, as the complaint was filed on the 30th of May.
Many outlets covered the lawsuit a few days later in June. PEOPLE reported that the publishing company was suing Meta for using 243 songs from Eminem’s music catalog, the rights to which were controlled by the company. As mentioned in the post, a $109 million lawsuit has seen some progress since the complaint was filed.
What Did Eminem’s Music Publisher Claim in Their Complaint Against Meta?
Eight Mile Style, which controls Eminem’s early catalog, shared in their complaint against Mark Zuckerberg’s company that the latter violated the copyright of 243 songs from its catalog. In the complaint, they also accused Meta of “unauthorized storage, reproduction, and exploitation” of these songs on their various platforms.
The complaint stated that the various features employed by Meta Platform’s applications, including Original Audio and Reels Remix, enabled and encouraged users to “steal Eight Mile Style’s music” and use it “without proper attribution or license” in their content.
It was alleged in the complaint that their music was used across millions of videos, and they were viewed on these platforms billions of times. It also accused Meta of “knowing infringement” by first reproducing and storing their songs in its online Music Libraries.
The complaint also claimed that Meta “is not eligible for the Digital
Millennium Copyright Act’s safe harbor provisions.” Meta has entered into a licensing agreement with Audiam, allowing it to store, reproduce, and distribute music. Audiam is a licensing rights agency, which Eight Mile claims has no authority to enter into any license on behalf of the company.
In a statement to PEOPLE, a spokesperson for Meta shared, “Meta had been negotiating in good faith with Eight Mile Style, but rather than continue those discussions, Eight Mile Style chose to sue.” Eight Mile asked for $150,000 for each of the 243 songs, totaling $ 36,450,000.
Eight Mile controls Eminem’s music that was published between 1995 and 2005. His production team co-founded the company. Eminem is not directly involved in the lawsuit.
Meta’s Response to Eight Mile Style’s Lawsuit
In September, Meta sought to dismiss Eight Mile Style’s lawsuit. The tech giant claimed that the $109 million copyright claim was “long on rhetoric” and “remarkably short on specifics” (via Complete Music Update).
Meta argued that while Eight Mile Style references 243 compositions, the complaint “never says which of them were allegedly infringed – let alone identifies when or where the infringement occurred, or by whom.” They shared that the lack of information was enough to dismiss the entire lawsuit. Meta claimed:
It’s not enough to claim that unidentified compositions were infringed somewhere on Meta’s services at some unknown time without a modicum of support identifying any – let alone ‘rampant’ – user infringement.
Meta claimed that it had a license covering Eminem’s composition from Audiam. While Eight Mile claimed that Meta’s deal with Audiam did not cover its catalog, the tech giant argued that an Audiam representative told them that “Audiam was authorised to represent EMS in its direct negotiation with Meta.”
What do you think of this lawsuit? Let us know in the comments below!
