Sony Suit Accuses Marriott, Influencers of Using Unlicensed Music

Marriott is using “hundreds” of videos containing unlicensed music from Sony-owned labels, according to Sony's copyright infringement suit. It was filed Friday (docket 1:24-cv-00598) in U.S. District Court for Delaware in Wilmington.

Sony first contacted Marriott about the infringement in January 2020 and has given the hotel chain notice of its "continuing infringing conduct” multiple times, including as recently as March, the complaint said. Many of the unlicensed recordings remain on Marriott social media pages, which have millions of followers, the complaint said.

Marriott initially entered into a tolling agreement with Sony “but then refused to enter into reasonable extensions or new tolling agreements and refused to timely identify which hotels Sony Music identified were managed or franchised,” resulting in the lawsuit, the complaint said.

Since Marriott knew “for years” of Sony Music’s claims and continued using the unlicensed music, its conduct is “willful,” the complaint argued. From the time Sony put Marriott on notice about unauthorized use of its recordings, Sony has identified at least 931 infringements in the U.S. alone, it said. The plaintiff has also identified 18 infringements of its videos on Marriott's paid social media influencers' social media pages, the complaint alleged.

The volume of infringement Sony has discovered is likely “only the tip of the iceberg,” the complaint alleged. Sony believes discovery in the case “will reveal much more,” it said. Material Sony has yet to discover could include content posted for a limited time on sites such as Instagram Stories and Snapchat, which Marriott uses for social media marketing, it said.

Infringing recordings include the music of Beyoncé, Harry Styles, Britney Spears, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Miley Cyrus, Shakira and Doja Cat, the complaint said. Marriott and its influencers' use of Sony Music’s recordings, “often for the entire soundtrack,” allows the videos to operate “like a paid advertising campaign,” though Marriott chose not to secure permission or pay for using the copyrighted music, it said.

The Instagram page for Marriott’s W Hotel Fort Lauderdale posted an ad in April 2023 featuring Beyoncé's Alien Superstar that has amassed more than 94,500 views, the complaint alleged. Marriott often exploits recordings repeatedly when they’re at the top of the charts or trending online, said the complaint. The defendant posted a video of the singer's new Texas Hold ‘Em on Feb. 24 of this year, three days after the track debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, it said.

The lawsuit is necessary because Marriott “refused to enter into and/or extend reasonable tolling agreements, failed to stop its infringing content, and made no effort to enter into good faith negotiations to redress its infringements,” said the complaint. Marriott has the right and ability to supervise and control the infringement through agreements with franchisees, it said. The infringements “rob Sony Music of the substantial licensing revenues it's entitled to” for use of Sony Music recordings, alleged the complaint.

Sony charges Marriott with direct, vicarious and contributory infringement, and it seeks a permanent injunction barring Marriott and its partners from infringing its works. The plaintiff also seeks an order requiring Marriott to render a complete accounting of all profits and the value of the business opportunities received from the infringing activities, plus statutory or actual damages; attorneys’ costs and fees; and pre- and post-judgment interest.