Several major music publishers, including Kobalt and Prescription Songs, are seeking to consolidate 13 copyright infringement lawsuits against NBA teams into a single case, with the Cleveland Cavaliers action serving as the lead case.

The lawsuits, filed in summer 2023, allege that various NBA teams infringed on protected musical works in videos posted to social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and NBA.com. While the NBA itself isn't named in the suits, the complaints target individual teams for allegedly using music without proper licensing for professional promotional content.

The consolidation effort has seen one case removed from the original group, as the Atlanta Hawks are currently finalizing settlement terms with the publishers. The remaining defendant teams agree to consolidation for pre-trial proceedings but oppose full consolidation.

This legal action is part of a broader trend of copyright infringement cases targeting major brands' social media usage:

• The Beastie Boys vs. Chili's parent company (answer due February 3rd)
• Universal Music vs. Chili's owner (answer due January 27th)
• Sony Music's recent settlement with Marriott
• Associated Production Music's December settlement with several American Hockey League teams

The cases highlight an ongoing issue where companies use music from social platforms' libraries, which are typically only cleared for personal, not commercial, use.

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