The Miami Heat are one of more than a dozen NBA teams being sued for allegedly using copyrighted music in promotional videos without authorization to do so.
The complete list of teams facing legal action — according to Law360 — includes the Cleveland Cavaliers, Denver Nuggets, Indiana Pacers, Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Orleans Pelicans, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Philadelphia 76ers, Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings and San Antonio Spurs along with the Heat.
All of the aforementioned NBA franchises are being accused of uploading promotional videos containing copyrighted music to platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X (previously known as Twitter).
The complaints — which were filed earlier this week and spearheaded by Artist Publishing Group as well as Kobalt Music Publishing America Inc. — claim that all the teams being accused of using copyrighted music were “acutely aware of the protections” that copyright law provides.
Each team now faces three claims: direct copyright infringement, contributory copyright infringement and vicarious copyright infringement.
The Heat are fresh off a 2023-24 campaign that plenty of fans of the team likely want to forget. After reaching the NBA Finals in 2023, Miami didn’t enjoy close to the same amount of success in the 2024 NBA Playoffs.
Miami’s playoff stint was short-lived, as the team lost to the Boston Celtics — who went on to win the title — in five games in the first round.
It’s worth noting, however, that the Heat were dealing with the injury bug by the time the first round kicked off. Jimmy Butler was dealing with an MCL injury and missed the entirety of the best-of-seven series. Additionally, Terry Rozier didn’t appear in any of Miami’s five playoff games against Boston thanks to a neck injury.
The Heat’s lone victory versus the Celtics in the 2024 NBA Playoffs came in Game 2, when the Heat knocked down a whopping 23 3-pointers to tie the series up at one game apiece. From there, they lost three straight games.
Fans of the Heat should try to keep tabs on the team’s legal situation, as it’s possible that the organization could face repercussions in the future.