Music Publishers Cry Foul on NBA Teams’ Use of Music in Promotional and Marketing Clips

By Brandon M. Ballard & Michael S. Carroll In July of 2024, Kobalt Music Publishing America, Inc. and other music companies filed suit against 14 NBA teams in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York, in the latest ongoing battle between music publishers and organizations that allegedly use copyrighted material without proper authorization (e.g., Artist Publishing Group, LLC v. New York Knicks, LLC, 2024). The plaintiffs, representing significant entities in the music p