cease and desist
for music on
Instagram & TikTok
cease and desist
for music on
Instagram & TikTok
from
The use of music on TikTok and Instagram can quickly become expensive for companies: Copyright cease and desist letters and authorization requests for the use of music on social media are not uncommon. However, claims made should not be accepted without checking.
Music usage and licenses on TikTok and INstagram
Nowadays, many tradespeople and small businesses use TikTok and Instagram as a marketing channel to present their own company. These are often not elaborate campaigns in which services and products are directly advertised, but rather supposedly risk-free posts that merely provide an insight into the company and its day-to-day operations. Well-known songs are quickly integrated into the post via the music libraries of the respective platforms and accompany the corresponding videos. But this is precisely where a considerable risk lies: the license agreements concluded with the platform operators by the rights holders generally only cover the private use of the music works contained in the music library by the platform users and not their commercial use.
The threshold for commercial use is lower than many initially assume. Even if the post only indirectly serves to promote the company’s image, it may be considered commercial use. This is regularly the case with company profiles. Even seemingly harmless clips from everyday office life or brief insights into work processes are regularly no longer legally attributable to the private sphere. Such contributions are often the subject of cease and desist letters and authorization requests from rights holders.
Cease and desist letter and authorization request
The cease and desist letter is a formal request by the rights holder to refrain from the commercial use of the musical works. In addition to claims for information and damages, he also asserts claims for reimbursement of the costs of the cease and desist letter.
Requests for authorization, on the other hand, appear in various forms and are often more restrained in their wording than cease and desist letters. In most cases, the affected parties are initially only asked to provide proof of the basis on which they believe they are entitled to commercially use the relevant works. However, the non-binding appearance is deceptive. Requests for authorization are by no means less serious letters. If there is no response within the set deadline or if the recipient states that they do not have a corresponding license, requests for subsequent licensing or claims for damages follow, in which considerable sums are demanded.
Received a cease and desist letter?
How to react
You are best advised to
cease and desist letter!
A cease and desist letter, e.g. for infringement of competition law, industrial property rights or copyright, should always be taken seriously, as it can have considerable legal and financial consequences.
Timely and professional advice is crucial in order to minimize risks and develop the right strategy.
- Check cease and desist letter: Have the cease and desist letter legally checked. Not every cease and desist letter is justified, formally correct and abusive cease and desist letters are unlawful.
- Observe the deadline: Be sure to respond within the set deadline to avoid further legal action such as an injunction or a lawsuit.
- Check the cease-and-desist declaration: Do not sign a pre-formulated cease-and-desist declaration without legal advice. It could be too far-reaching and lead to considerable and lasting disadvantages. Once a cease-and-desist declaration has been signed, it is almost impossible to get rid of it and can result in considerable follow-up costs in the form of high contractual penalties.
- Strategy: Regardless of whether the cease and desist letter is justified or not, you should consider the right strategy for responding to the cease and desist letter with professional support. Many aspects play a role here. For example, there may be formal errors or the submission of a cease-and-desist declaration may involve incalculable risks.
Early legal review crucial
Recipients of a cease and desist letter or an authorization request are often initially unsettled when they read the legal explanations and amounts demanded. It is particularly significant that many small businesses and traders have had no or only minimal contact with copyright disputes before. The letters, which often contain detailed legal arguments, deadlines and high demands, are therefore understandably intimidating, especially if they come from the supposedly “harmless” everyday life of social media. The addressees are quickly made to feel overwhelmed.
Our experience shows that early legal advice and representation of those affected often pays off. First of all, it restores the balance and prevents the premature acceptance of economically disadvantageous settlement offers. The amounts demanded in cease and desist letters and requests for authorization are by no means without alternative, as often presented in the respective letters. The interests of the rights holders are often disproportionately taken into account. However, each case is an individual case in which there is room for argumentation. A lawyer can carefully examine the claims and help you to realistically assess whether the amounts claimed are appropriate. On this basis, a defense strategy tailored to the specific circumstances of the individual case will be developed, possible courses of action identified and any further necessary measures initiated.
Recommendation
It is advisable to have the claims checked by a lawyer, as there is regularly considerable scope for argumentation. A professional legal examination and individual handling often leads to a more advantageous overall economic result for those affected. If you have received a corresponding letter from a rights holder, you are welcome to send it to us at any time without obligation. After a non-binding cursory review, we will inform you whether a course of action is recommended and provide you with a cost estimate for the complete examination and handling of your matter.
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