Apple Music has been hit with a lawsuit alleging that they "failed to license mechanical rights" for compositions belonging to independent artist Bryan Eich. The putative class action suit was filed by attorney Richard Garbarini over the weekend and seeks $30,000 for each alleged song infringement, Billboardreports.
Garbarini, an attorney at the small Garbarini Fitzgerald law firm, has requested the court "certify" songwriters who own publishing rights that make it to Apple Music via CD Baby and similar distribution services. The suit claims Apple didn't follow the typical process for instances in which publishing rights holders can't be identified, which is to file Notices of Intent (NOI) with the Copyright Office. Apple, according to the suit, never filed.
The suit characterizes these failings as part of a "systematic process of infringement," a process Eich claims also involved altering streaming reports to hide each infringement. At the time of this writing, no songs or albums by Eich were searchable on Apple Music.
At the top of this month, Spotify’s legal team argued in a hearing in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York for final approval of a settlement stemming from a similar suit. Spotify, the suit alleged, also failed to license mechanical rights and file NOIs for a variety of compositions.
According to Billboard's report, Eich's suit marks the first of its kind against Apple. An in-court battle between the two parties seems unlikely.
Apple did not immediately respond to Complex's request for comment.
