Lewis Black sues Pandora for $10 million over copyright infringement

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Lewis Black filed a lawsuit against the company on Thursday, claiming that the company ran recordings of his performances without his permission.

The fight between comedians, streamers, and the performing rights organizations has been going on for a long time. The suit seeks back pay for millions of dollars worth of publishing royalties and a change in the way comedy is copyrighted. If the comedians win, it will have a big impact on the audio streaming industry.

Black, who rose to national prominence with his regular appearances on The Daily Show, is suing for over $10 million. It was thought that entertainment giants like Pandora would honor the legacy of such an amazing talent, but instead it chose to illegally profit from the creative mind and literary/comedic works of Lewis Black. They were unavailable for comment.

Although comedians and their labels are normally paid royalties for their recording rights, publishing rights for spoken-word content have been largely ignored.

The estates of Robin Williams and George Carlin are represented by a performing rights organization called Word Collections. The suits were consolidated in March. Black is represented by another performing rights organization, but they don't seem to be involved in the suit.

Black entered the picture in December when the comedy albums of John Mulaney, Tiffany Haddish and others were removed from the platform by the streamer. He requested that his albums be taken down. He said that it took a long time for comedy to be recognized as an art form. A joke is just as powerful as a song's lyrics, which are paid for by the service.

There hasn't been a lawsuit yet. Part of the reason why the suit is moving more quickly is because of language the company used in a financial filing before it was acquired. It was listed as one of its liabilities that it did not obtain publishing rights. The company said that third parties could claim copyright against them.

In its response to the combined lawsuits in May, the company argued that it has been correct in doing so because publishing rights for spoken-word content have not been the industry standard. The company is trying to recover money.

There may not be enough strength in the arguments. It would be difficult to pay out the royalties. It will be difficult, according to intellectual property litigator Terence Ross. That isn't a good defense to a charge of a copyrighted work.

Losing is a very large expense for the company. The comedians are trying to recover more than 70 million dollars from the other side. It's possible that other comedians will follow suit for similar damages.

A change in the way spoken-word copyright functions could potentially change the way streamers do business. Due to the fact that they are less expensive to stream than music, talk content such as podcasts and audiobooks are very popular. If those works are also entitled to publishing royalties, that's another cost that will have to be taken on by streamers.

The audio industry is growing every Tuesday.