A US court has ruled that Playboi Carti and Universal Music did not knowingly issue an improper copyright takedown notice against a video on Twitter because the rapper was annoyed that another track had used the same beat as a song on his debut album.
An invalid takedown notice was submitted on behalf of the rapper, real name Jordan Carter. However, the Universal employee who submitted it didn't know that the claim was invalid, the court ruled.
And while Carter “may well have been aware of and displeased with” the track contained in that video, the lawsuit against him “failed to establish that Carter had any part in the takedown notices”. In fact, it’s “undisputed” that Carter never “communicated with or met” the relevant Universal exec.
It's an interesting case that reviews the obligations of record companies that issue takedowns under US law against tracks and videos that they believe are infringing their copyrights. It also puts the spotlight on the rights management challenges that occur when multiple tracks use the same beat, including when an established artist uses a beat that has already been licensed on a non-exclusive basis to other people.
The US Digital Millennium Copyright Act sets out the process via which copyright owners can request content be removed from digital platforms on the grounds of copyright infringement. Platforms are obliged to comply with takedown notices to avoid liability for infringing content uploaded by their users.
The DMCA says that entities issuing takedowns must have “a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorised by the copyright owner, its agent or the law”. If a takedown issuer “knowingly materially misrepresents” that a piece content is infringing copyright, they “shall be liable for any damages incurred by the alleged infringer” if that takedown results in the content being removed.
It was on these grounds that Jordan White, who performs as G-Baby, filed his lawsuit against Carter and Universal. In 2017, he licensed a beat from producer Jordan Jenks which he then used in a track called ‘Oi’. The following year, Carter licensed the same beat for ‘Right Now’, a track on his album ‘Die Lit’.
Carter knew that the beat also appeared in ‘Oi’, White claimed. That was based on two things. Carter allegedly complained when ASAP Mob member Illijah Ulanga posted White’s track on his Soundcloud page. And Universal Music exec Aaron Sherrod contacted White’s manager ahead of the release of ‘Die Lit’ and discussed the fact ‘Right Now’ and ‘Oi’ used the same beat.
Unhappy that there was another track in circulation using the same beat, White’s lawsuit alleged, Carter “contacted his team, including his label, and enlisted them to stifle his competition by scrubbing the ‘Oi!’ music video from Twitter”.
However, the takedown issued to Twitter was instigated by a member of Universal’s content protection team, Osaze Olumhense, who says he wasn’t acting under the instruction of Carter or Sherrod, or anyone else at the major who had a relation with the rapper.
When White queried how Olumhense would even have spotted ‘Oi’ if not directed to it by an associate of Carter, he said that the Twitter algorithm had likely identified the video because of its similarity to ‘Right Now’.
White himself conceded that Olumhense was not aware that the use of the ‘Right Now’ beat in ‘Oi’ was licensed and legitimate. Therefore, the judge concluded, the Universal exec had a “good faith belief” that the copyright in Carter’s track had been infringed. Which means the takedown, although invalid, was not malicious, and therefore White is not due damages.
The court had already dismissed White’s initial claim against Carter and Universal back in 2021, but allowed him to file an amended complaint. It’s that complaint that the judge has now ruled on by summary judgement.
White also asked for the court to rule that his use of the beat in ‘Oi’ was legitimate and therefore his track does not infringe the copyright in ‘Right Now’. The judge declined to issue such a ruling on the basis that neither Carter nor Universal have ever suggested White is liable for copyright infringement, except in the takedown they acknowledge was issued by mistake.