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Google won’t face Genius lawsuit over claims of copying song lyrics
June 27, 2025
Genius has lost its bid to sue Google forallegedly scraping song lyrics.
The Hollywood Reporterhas learned that New York federal judge Margo Brodie dismissed Genius’ claims against Google in a ruling on August 10. Brodie determined that Genius was overstepping its limits by launching copyright claims it didn’t have the authority to make.
Genius’ breach of contract claims were just attempts to “enforce the copyright holders’ exclusive rights” against unauthorized copying, the judge said. It only controlled “derivative works,” and the copyrights in this case ultimately belonged to the musicians. Precedent required that Genius show there was an “extra element” (such as contractual requirements) for a state claim to survive, and Genius reportedly couldn’t show this.
Brodie also tossed out Genius’ unfair competition claim, noting that the lyrics provider hadn’t accused Google of violating any duty or “confidential relationship.”
The judge also rejected Genius’ move to have the case returned to a state court, effectively shutting down the lawsuit.
Read more:Google finally shows song lyrics in search results
It’s not certain what Genius will do next.Android Authorityhas asked Genius and Google for comment.
Genius claimed to have “irrefutable” evidence of Google scraping lyrics for its own purposes, pointing to a special pattern of apostrophes used to catch thieves. There were over 100 examples, Genius said. Google denied the accusations, noting that it got lyrics from partners. If there was any copying going on, Google argued, those third parties were to blame.
The decision ends uncertainty over Google’s lyrics, at least for now. You can search for the verses from a favorite song and still expect to find them as you have before. Not that Google can rest at the moment. It’s stillfacing close scrutiny from Congressand other government bodies, includingclaims it tried to sink Yelpby stealing content. This is one victory in a war it’s not guaranteed to win.
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