APM Music Slaps the AHL with a $150K Lawsuit

The recent lawsuit, which was filed in California's federal district court, started when Associated Production Music accused the American Hockey League and nine of its teams of copyright infringement. An exclusive owner of more than 650,000 tracks in its catalog, APM postulates that the defendants infringed on their copyrighted music by using it on their social media outlets, which include but are not limited to Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

The lawsuit, reported by Rick Westhead, accuses the AHL of "rampant infringement," citing more than 230 instances where APM's music was used without a proper license. Social media platforms usually require users to obtain copyright clearance for any content shared there and offer mechanisms for rights holders to request that unauthorized material be removed. While most of the infringing videos were removed, APM noted others remained online.

APM is seeking damages for the unauthorized use, either by way of an account of profits derived from the infringements or statutory damages of up to $150,000 per infringement. They are also seeking an injunction against the AHL and its constituent teams from continuing to use their music in the future without the requisite licenses.

As the AHL and the teams work to build a defense, they are likely to claim that they had a valid license to use such music in their games or that they have a fair-use defense, a doctrine in copyright law that enables the limited use of copyrighted material in cases such as news reporting, criticism, or parody. However, proving fair use in this case will be tough because videos are likely to be considered promotional rather than purely informative.

This case underlines the continuing complications of music licensing and increasing legal scrutiny over the usage of copyrighted content in digital media as organizations position music as a key mechanism to amplify their presence across multiple platforms.