📰 New article from TorrentFreak
X and Music Publishers Settle Three-Year Copyright Clash After SpaceX IPO
https://torrentfreak.com/x-and-music-publishers-settle-three-year-copyright-clash-after-spacex-ipo/
The three-year copyright war between X and the music industry just quietly ended. No verdicts, no public apologies, and definitely no standing ovations.
Universal Music, Sony, EMI, and the NMPA had accused X of “breeding” mass infringement, claiming the platform ignored hundreds of thousands of takedown notices. X fired back, alleging the publishers weaponized DMCA complaints to coerce licensing deals. It was a messy, high-stakes battle that dragged on for years.
So, why the sudden silence? Both sides filed identical joint dismissals last week. The legal landscape had shifted dramatically. A recent Supreme Court ruling weakened the publishers’ contributory infringement claims, while X’s own antitrust suit looked increasingly thin. Fighting further was just burning cash.
There’s likely a financial motive, too. This settlement clears the air for SpaceX’s recent IPO. With X listed as a significant litigation risk in SpaceX’s SEC filings, resolving this liability before the first quarterly earnings report and insider stock sales makes perfect sense. It’s a classic case of settling up to keep investors happy.
Now, we’re left wondering: Is there a secret licensing deal in the works, or just a mutual desire to move on? Until we see more details in future filings, the only thing resolved is the drama.