Home / Business and Economy / X and Music Firms Settle Copyright Suits
X and Music Firms Settle Copyright Suits
17 Jul
Summary
- X and music publishers dismissed dueling lawsuits.
- Cases involved copyright infringement claims and antitrust accusations.
- Legal actions began in 2023 and January 2026.
The social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, and a consortium of music publishers have agreed to cease their legal disputes. Court filings revealed that both X and the music companies jointly stipulated to the dismissal of all claims with prejudice, preventing future litigation.
The initial lawsuit was filed in 2023 by 17 music companies and their trade group, accusing X (then Twitter) of failing to police widespread copyright infringement of approximately 1,700 songs. This action followed Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter and the termination of licensing negotiations.
In January 2026, X countersued, alleging that the music companies had colluded to enforce inflated blanket licensing rates. X also accused them of misusing copyright takedown procedures under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. Neither party has provided a reason for the dismissal, and no settlement terms were mentioned.
