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Lawsuit Could Cost PokerStars and PokerNews Millions

In case you missed it, the parent company of PokerNews.com is facing a massive lawsuit by several record companies over accusations of copyright infringement. Something else that some of you may not know is that PokerNews and parent company iBus Media is owned by PokerStars.

So what exactly happened here? From the lawsuit, it appears that PokerNews got a little careless in the music they used a lot of their media in the past and after requests from the music companies to cease and desist, it appears that PokerNews did not take enough steps to remove the content, and now they are facing a multi-million dollar lawsuit.

PokerNews Uses Songs Without a License

This past week, a group of eight music companies filed a lawsuit against iBus Media over PokerNews’ use of over 40 songs over at least 253 separate videos or podcasts. If you’re familiar with how radio programs or media programs operate, they will often use snippets of music as part of their program, often referred to as bumper music.

If you listen to programs on mainstream radio, the music used is often down so after a license is acquired by the radio station. The same is true for any program that broadcasts over radio or TV. Sometimes these licenses are for long-term use and other times they are for one-off programs.

According to the lawsuit filed by UMG Recordings, INC and others, PokerNews used a wide variety of songs and did not obtain a license to do so. Among the songs used by the company included Paradise City by Guns N’ Roses and Money Maker by Ludacris. The majority of the violations in the lawsuit came from podcasts run by PokerNews but there were also a number of violations from various video updates, including Amanda Leatherman’s farewell video when she left PokerNews as a presenter.

PokerStars and iBus on the Hook for up to $6.9 Million

Back in 2015, the record companies had contacted iBus Media and informed them of their violations. It appears that PokerNews didn’t do enough to appease the companies as they have now decided to move forward with the lawsuit. Since PokerNews uses their media as a way to try and create revenue, the record companies are suing for damages and their cut of PokerNews’ profits.

How much the damages will amount to in the end will be up to a judge to decide, provided that the parties don’t settle out of court. Violations of copyright in the US carry penalties ranging from $750 per instance to $150,000. That’s up to $6.9 million in potential damages.

This is also assuming that the record labels don’t attach more violations to the lawsuit. As part of the lawsuit, they stated that they felt that PokerNews committed more violations and they may add on any additional violations at a later date.

Shouldn’t They Have Known Better?

To be frank, this lawsuit is a bit surprising considering the high profile nature of PokerNews. One would assume that if they were going to use music to the degree that they have in their podcasts and other videos, they would have acquired the proper licenses.

This isn’t an instance of a couple of songs being used at random. There are 253 separate instances and dozens of instances of the same song in some cases. It will be impossible for PokerNews to argue that they did not intentionally use these songs to enrich their programs.

At this point, it would seem that the only real thing to do is to try and come to some settlement with the record companies. PokerStars is now the majority owner of PokerNews and definitely has the money to resolve this matter like they did Black Friday. Afterward, iBus Media needs to tighten their business practices in order to avoid this type of situation in the future.

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