Record Label sue Vimeo over failure to prevent unlicensed music to stream on its platform

Record Labels have sued Vimeo in the latest legal case alleging that Vimeo has failed to prevent unlicensed music from appearing on its platform. This case tests the obligation of safe harbor dwelling website and platform in case of streaming contents which led to copyright infringement.

Vimeo is a video streaming service focusing on B2B operations providing a platform to various artists to put their videos. This case was led by music rights holders coordinated by global labels body the IFPI, Italian national body Fimi, and anti-piracy organization FPM.

France Moore, CEO of IFPI claimed, "Vimeo has fallen short of its obligation as an online content sharing service to take effective steps to prevent unlicensed music from being made available on its site. Significant amounts of unlicensed music are being uploaded and reuploaded to its service. Record labels invest heavily in discovering, nurturing, and promoting artists. The making available of unlicensed sound recordings harms their ability to secure a return on their investment which is crucial to their ability to invest in new artists"

The case was filed at the time when Vimeo recently raised $300m funding to be valued at $5bn. Vimeo also revealed through its publication of financial results with revenue of $89.4m in the first quarter of 2021. Such action might not be good news for Vimeo.

Vimeo has been previously sued by the record industry over its takedown system which was instigated by the EMI record company prior to its acquisition by Universal which was fought in the US court. Either in the US or Europe, the obligation towards the safe harbor dwelling platforms has been interpreted more strictly.

Vimeo does have a system through which the copyright owner can request to put down those videos that infringe their copyright. But whether those systems are rigorous enough that it could ensure the safe harbor protection for Vimeo is something which the case will delve upon.