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The Indiana Pacers are among 14 NBA teams being sued for copyright infringement for the alleged unauthorized use of popular songs in promotional videos shared on the teams’ social media accounts.
Separate lawsuits were filed against each team in federal court in the Southern District of New York on behalf of Artist Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing America and several other music publishers.
The complaint against the Pacers cites the alleged unauthorized use of only one song, “Mmm Yeah,” recorded by Austin Mahone and featuring Pitbull.
The lawsuit alleges that the Pacers violated the copyright owned by Kobalt Music Publishing America by using the song in videos “which are intended to promote defendants’ commercial activities, and then exploiting the videos on variety of consumer-facing platforms” without obtaining authorization or consent.
The lawsuit doesn’t specifically cite the Pacers video or the platform on which the song allegedly appeared. But it notes the Pacers organization “dedicates substantial effort” to its social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Snapchat and TikTok to “engage their fanbase and increase their viewership.”
Attorneys David Steven Slovick and Anna Kalinina of the law firm Barnes & Thornburg are listed in court documents as representing the Pacers in the lawsuit. They did not immediately respond to the Indiana Lawyer’s request for comment.
Among the claims made against 14 of the NBA’s 30 teams, the complaint against the Orlando Magic contains the most allegations of unauthorized use, involving 27 songs.
Among the copyrighted songs music publishers say the Magic used without permission are “Don’t Start Now” by Dua Lipa, “See You Again” by Wiz Khalifa featuring Charlie Puth and (I Know I Got) Skillz by Shaquille O’Neal.
The other teams named in the complaints account for total of 127 allegation of unauthorized use. Those teams are the Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, Miami Heat, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trailblazers, Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs.
The music publishers are seeking up to $150,000 for each unauthorized use and an injunction to prevent further unauthorized use of copyrighted material.
The case pending against the Pacers and filed in July is Artist Publishing Group LLC et al vs. Pacers Basketball LLC, 1:24-cv-05456-AKH.
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