Recent music licensing lawsuits against three broadcasters by Global Music Rights indicate the music licensing entity “has lost patience with stations that have not entered into agreements to play their music,” wrote Wilkinson Barker broadcast attorney David Oxenford posted Oct. 7. According to legal filings in U.S. District Court, GMR sued Red Wolf in Connecticut, Southern Stone Communications and Black Crowe Media Group in the Middle District of Florida, and One Putt Broadcasting in the Eastern District of California. The courts could potentially lower the damages requested, but “even the threat of such damages has been enough to put many of the original file-sharing music sites out of business,” Oxenford said. Radio stations avoiding playing GMR-licensed music “is a difficult if not impossible task given the songwriters that GMR has signed who have full or partial copyrights in a wide variety of popular music," the blog post said. Commercial radio stations that haven’t reached a licensing agreement with GMR “or otherwise taken action to avoid the need for that license should discuss this issue with their attorneys now to see what actions they can take to avoid potential liability later,” Oxenford said.

The complaint alleging AT&T “misappropriated” Averon’s trade secrets “appears aimed at gaining publicity for Averon,” emailed an AT&T spokesperson Wednesday. “We will defend ourselves against these derogatory accusations in court.” Averon didn’t comment. Digital identity verification platform Averon entered a motion Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, seeking leave to file the complaint against AT&T and mobile sign-in app ZenKey under seal to protect “confidential and proprietary information” (see 2210120040).

Charter Communications filed separate federal lawsuits in two states Oct. 5, alleging misuse of Charter's trademarks in scams to steal customers' information. Its complaint (docket 2:22-cv-05901) in U.S. District Court in Newark, New Jersey, accuses Easy Pay Solutions of Parlin, New Jersey, of sending Charter customers text messages that "falsely hold Easy Pay out as an authorized agent of Spectrum (which is Charter’s brand name), or even as Spectrum itself, and promise a discount on a subscriber’s monthly Spectrum bill if he or she makes a payment through Easy Pay," according to the complaint. "When a subscriber responds, Defendants steal the subscriber’s credit card or banking information and make a payment directly to themselves. Defendants then contact Charter, posing as the Charter subscriber, and use invalid payment information to make a false 'payment' to Charter. That payment is later reversed, leaving the subscriber’s monthly bill unpaid." Easy Pay didn't comment Wednesday. In a second fraud complaint Wednesday (docket 4:22-cv-03433) in U.S. District Court in Houston, Charter alleged that a Texas startup, Knowteq Solutions, and Natoshia Ellzey of Katy, Texas, its “sole member and manager,” are sending text solicitations to Charter subscribers using the Charter and Spectrum “family” of trademarks, “falsely stating Charter subscribers could receive a discount on their Spectrum bills" if paid through Knowteq. “A subscriber responds to the text message link by phone or a responsive text message with the assumption he is communicating with Charter or an authorized vendor for Charter,” it said. Using the subscriber’s fraudulently obtained Charter account details and other information, Knowteq and Ellzey call Spectrum impersonating the subscriber and make a payment on the account using a stolen credit card or invalid checking account, it said. Knowteq and Ellzey then initiate a reimbursement to themselves using funds taken from the subscriber’s own bank account or credit card, it said. The payment made by the defendants to the subscriber’s Spectrum account is ultimately rejected by the bank, and the account “consequently shows a payment reversal,” and remains unpaid, it said. When contacted by phone, Ellzey falsely told a Charter investigator that Knowteq was a Spectrum-authorized vendor and that her company was hired “to facilitate customer payments,” it said. The complaint accuses Knowteq and Ellzey of “smishing,” a form of cyberfraud “in which a criminal, pretending to be a legitimate entity, sends a text message to a victim.” Ellzey didn’t respond to requests for comment Wednesday.

Digital identity verification platform Averon entered a motion Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Wilmington, Delaware, seeking leave to file a complaint under seal alleging AT&T and mobile sign-on app ZenKey “misappropriated” Averon’s trade secrets, said court papers in docket 1:22-cv-01341. Averon’s complaint and exhibits contain “confidential and proprietary information that Averon seeks to protect,” plus the defendants’ “alleged” confidential information that Averon also seeks to protect, said the motion. AT&T and ZenKey didn’t comment Wednesday.

Beijing-based Sailed Technology filed a "renewed" application Thursday (docket 2:22-cv-01396) in U.S. District Court in Seattle for an order granting it permission to serve subpoenas on Amazon for deposition testimony and documents connected with a case brought in an intellectual property court in Nanjing, China, in which Amazon Echo and Fire products are alleged to have infringed one or more Sailed patents. Sailed's subpoena request is "no longer an ex parte application," it said. Chinese courts lack the discovery processes common to courts in the U.S., “and the instant application provides the only means by which Sailed can obtain the information sought,” it said. Sailed seeks “limited discovery” from Amazon about the manufacture and sales of Amazon products at issue in the Chinese court, including the identity of the “Chinese entities that manufacture, distribute, and export the accused Amazon products,” said the application. Amazon is due to file an opposition by Oct. 17, and Sailed’s reply is due Oct. 21, it said. The renewed application was filed on Sailed’s behalf by Carmen Bremer of the Bremer Law Group in Seattle, but in recent days, Sailed has brought on James Canfield, Emma Baratta, James Klaiber and Lynn Russo with Hughes Hubbard in New York to handle the case. Four attorneys with Fenwick & West are representing Amazon.