Judge Throws Out Wixen's $102M Copyright Suit Against Meta Over Standing

Wixen Music Publishing went hunting for a nine-figure windfall from Meta and tripped over its own paperwork. According to a court order obtained by Music Business Worldwide, US District Judge John F. Walter dismissed the copyright infringement claims anchoring Wixen’s $102.15 million lawsuit against Meta Platforms. Wixen alleged Meta deployed 681 works without authorization across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, calculating damages using the maximum statutory cap of $150,000 per song. Judge Walter decided the motion entirely on written filings, concluding that Wixen failed to establish basic standing under the Copyright Act. The administrator—which manages catalogs for more than 2,000 clients across 100,000 songs—pleaded that it was the "exclusive licensee and/or owner" of the catalog without establishing the chain of title for individual compositions. Then came the legal trap on co-written tracks. Under Ninth Circuit precedent, a single co-owner cannot unilaterally grant an exclusive license that bypasses other contributors. Without every co-owner's sign-off, the administrator holds only a non-exclusive license and cannot sue third parties. Wixen conceded in filings that it lacks standing for roughly 100 works on its list, shaving approximately $15 million off its potential damages in one blow. Publishing administrators routinely posture as aggressive gatekeepers fighting tech encroachment, but sloppy papering turns what should be a rigorous defense of song rights into an unforced error. Meta didn't even have to argue whether it used the music; it just pointed out Wixen couldn't prove it held the keys. Wixen’s remaining state-law claims—defamation, trade libel, and intentional interference with contracts—remain on hold. Wixen has until September 18 to file a second amended complaint fixing the defects.