Warner Music Group (WMG) has initiated legal action against EssilorLuxottica, the parent company of Ray-Ban, accusing it of using 427 of its copyrighted songs in social media advertisements without proper authorization. The lawsuit, filed on October 9, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, seeks statutory damages totaling $64 million, calculated at $150,000 per infringed work.
The complaint alleges that EssilorLuxottica's brands, including Ray-Ban, Oakley, and Sunglass Hut, incorporated WMG's music into promotional videos distributed across platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. These videos featured tracks by artists like Taylor Swift, Travis Scott, Drake, Rihanna, Charli XCX, and Dua Lipa, among others. WMG claims that these unlicensed uses have been instrumental in driving sales and enhancing brand profiles, generating billions in revenue for EssilorLuxottica, while depriving WMG and its artists of compensation and control over their work's usage.
This lawsuit is part of a broader industry trend where music companies are actively pursuing legal action against brands for unauthorized use of copyrighted music in social media marketing. Similar cases have been filed against companies like Chili's, Marriott, and Designer Shoe Warehouse, highlighting the importance of obtaining proper licenses for music used in commercial content.