Judge declines to issue summary judgement on Kobalt side dispute in Eminem v Spotify copyright case
completemusicupdate.comThe judge overseeing the copyright dispute between Eminem’s publisher Eight Mile Style and Spotify last week declined to issue a summary judgement on a side dispute involving Kobalt.That was based on the conclusion that some expert testimonies were probably required because, you know, music publishing is fucking complicated, and who the fuck knows what’s really going on when a publisher licences a streaming service?
I mean, I’m paraphrasing slightly. But that’s pretty much what judge Aleta Trauger meant.Eight Mile Style accuses Spotify of not properly sorting out all the admin before making Eminem’s songs available to stream in the US.
As a result, it can’t rely on the compulsory licence that covers the mechanical copying of songs Stateside, and therefore it is liable for copyright infringement.Of course, lawsuits of this kind were meant to come to an end with the 2018 Music Modernization Act which changed the way song rights are licensed to streaming services in the US.
But, in 2019, Eight Mile Style sued anyway over Spotify’s past streaming of Eminem’s music, arguing that – for various reasons – the new laws shouldn’t stop it from holding the streaming giant liable for its allegedly dodgy rights admin pre-MMA.Along the way Spotify has tried to shift the blame onto Kobalt, as the administrator of Eight Mile Style’s catalogue.
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