SCOTUS Invites US Brief in Genius' Breach of Contract Case vs. Google

The Supreme Court invited the solicitor general to file a brief expressing the views of the U.S. in ML Genius v. Google, said an entry Monday in docket 22-121. The case involves Genius, an online platform for transcribing and annotating song lyrics, and its requirement that visitors agree to its contractual terms as a condition for using its services. These terms include the promise not to reproduce the contents of Genius’ platform, said the company’s Aug. 5 petition for cert. “Google contractually bound itself to those terms, but, in blatant breach of that contract, Google stole Genius’s labors for its own competing commercial purposes,” said the petition. The 2nd Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals said in a March 31 judgment the Copyright Act preempts Genius’ breach-of-contract claim, under a provision that applies only to claims equivalent to exclusive rights within the general scope of copyright, said the petition: “At least five circuits disagree with this ruling and only one other circuit agrees.” The question presented is, "Does the Copyright Act’s preemption clause allow a business to invoke traditional state-law contract remedies to enforce a promise not to copy and use its content?"