Robin Williams, George Carlin Estates Sue Pandora Over Copyrighted Jokes

The communities of Robin Williams and George Carlin sued Pandora Media Inc of Sirius XM on Monday, claiming that the online music service owes profits by broadcasting their material millions of times.

Williams and Carlin places, as well as comedians Bill Engvall, Ron White and Andrew Dice Clay, who never received a “half cent” from Pandora, say in five different frameworks. cases filed in Los Angeles by the same attorney.

The lawsuit seeks damages ranging from more than $ 4 million for Williams’ estate to about $ 13 million by White.

Carlin and Williams were two of the most famous comedians. Carlin died in 2008 and Williams died in 2014. Engvall and White are best known for starring in the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, and Clay was a major actor in the late 1980’s and early 1990’s.

Claims that Pandora’s licenses for comedian recordings do not include their jokes. Although companies like Pandora often negotiate music rights licenses with music rights organizations such as the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, these groups do not grant permission for literary works such as oral comedy, the comedian said.

They said Pandora knew it violated their rights. Pandora Fill with U.S. The Securities and Exchange Commission from 2011 to 2017 is alleged to be playing jokes “without a license from any playing rights organization” and could face “significant responsibility for copyright infringement.”

The rights group has been negotiating a job permit with Pandora since 2020, but Pandora ended negotiations last year, the protesters said.

Internet radio giant Sirius XM bought Pandora for $ 3.5 billion in 2018 to strengthen its live streaming services against competitors such as Spotify and Apple Music . A spokesman for Sirius did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The comedian’s lawyer declined to comment on the charges.

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