Music publishers' NBA copyright infringement lawsuits are facing significant discovery delays, with multiple cases likely to be pushed back several months. Publishers including Kobalt are seeking to consolidate 13 separate lawsuits against NBA teams over unauthorized use of protected music in social media videos.

Key Developments:

• The Portland Trail Blazers and publishers jointly requested a 60-day discovery extension from February to April
• Third-party discovery disputes with TuneSat in the Orlando Magic case are affecting other related cases
• The Atlanta Hawks are reportedly finalizing a settlement
• The presiding judge granted the discovery delay in the Blazers case, with a new scheduling order due by January 10th

TuneSat Dispute Details: The Orlando Magic is seeking extensive information from TuneSat, including:

• Digital fingerprint creation dates for identified works
• Download dates and URLs from team social media accounts
• Search histories and results from team social platforms

Similar cases are emerging in professional sports, with Associated Production Music pursuing infringement claims against the American Hockey League and several teams, though some settlements have already been reached.

These cases may influence how brands approach music licensing for their video content across social media platforms going forward.

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