“Months after receiving the cease-and-desist letter, Crumbl not only continued to exploit many of the infringing Crumbl videos, but also posted new infringing Crumbl videos,” the lawsuit explained. The lawsuit, in adidiotn, highlights a video posted from Crumbl’s TikTok account in which the company said that “legal said” it “can’t use any trending audios.”
The lawsuit is being reviewed by Crumbl
In a statement, Crumbl said it is reviewing the lawsuit. “Crumbl is conscious of the legal action initiated by Warner Music Group and is actively reviewing the issue. Crumbl respects the rights of artists and creators and will respond appropriately through the legal process. In the meantime, we remain focused on innovation, strengthening our community, and bringing friends and families together.”
Crumbl is not the first restaurant chain sued over copyright infringement. The Beastie Boys sued Chili’s last year for non authorized use of its song “Sabotage.” Sony Music Entertainment sued Marriott International the previous year for likely reasons.
The quick growth of TikTok has created such problems for companies as the push for content usually leads to demand to use trending music. At the time companies do this, nevertheless, it modificates from simple posts by regular users to corporate marketing.
Crumbl, which operates more than 1,000 locations and is looking for a buyer, has used social media in an agressive way since its emergence in 2017. Those videos have played a key role in the chain’s growth and ongoing popularity. The company has 9.8 million followers on TikTok and 6.1 million on Instagram.
For waht Crumbl is known for: its revoling cookies menu
Crumbl is commonly known for its revolving menu of cookies and, more recently, cakes and pies. If we take a look to the lawsuit, the company will use music related to some of the items in the video, such as the use of the song “Blueberry Faygo” by Lil Mosey to promote a blueberry cheesecake cookie. A Kentucky Butter Cake cookie was promoted with the song “Butter” by BTS, the lawsuit said. The lawsuit, in addition, argued that Crumbl represented that the music was “original audio” byt the same time it was copyrighted. The complaint noted that both TikTok and Instagram forbid unauthorized use of copyrighted music.
Warner in its complaint also referred to Crumbl’s own history of pushing back against copyright infringement. It cited the company’s since-settled lawsuit against the cookie chain Dirty Dough, and Crumbl over the years has aggressively gone after upstart companies that it said mimicked its business. “Crumbl is not unfamiliar with intellectual property laws and enforces its own intellectual property rights by filing lawsuits against companies that allegedly infringe against Crumbl’s intellectual property,” the lawsuit explained.
