You've received a letter demanding that you license a sound recording — typically from SoundGuardian GmbH (Frankfurt am Main, usually represented by Mag. Paul Gursch in Vienna) or from B1 Recordings GmbH (Berlin, represented by IPPC LAW Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH)? The financial demands often range between €3,000 and €10,000 and are frequently inflated relative to the actual use. The key is to take the right approach — pay as little as possible while still keeping litigation risk as low as possible.
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AI Awards 2024 Leading Civil Litigation Lawyer of the Year — Austria A cease-and-desist letter for music in a Reel often comes with short deadlines and can trigger significant cost risks. The enclosed cease-and-desist undertaking should never be signed unchecked. We keep the free initial assessment clearly separate from the further legal work — that only follows once you actually engage us after the initial conversation.
You call, we take time for a short general assessment — plausibility of the demand, rough range, urgency of action.
The initial assessment is free and non-binding. Only afterwards do you decide whether to engage us for the further work.
After engagement you forward the cease-and-desist letter, a link to the Reel/video concerned and background on the publication (commercial? reach? duration?). On that basis we examine standing, the amount demanded and the strategic room for response.
In most cases a modified cease-and-desist undertaking is the commercially smartest route. It eliminates the risk of repetition. In parallel we work out the best strategic response to the damages claim — tailored to your specific scope of use and your willingness to accept risk.
The goal is to resolve the matter quickly, cost-effectively and out of court. If the other side does take the matter to court contrary to expectations, we represent you with decades of litigation experience — from preliminary-injunction proceedings to main-stage proceedings, through all instances if needed.
We don't make outcome promises — that would be dishonest. What we can tell you: from our experience with many cease-and-desist letters of this kind, the demands can usually be reduced significantly.
Hourly rate €380 net. Typical total effort for standard cease-and-desist letters: 2 hours. This includes analysing the matter against the actual use, jointly setting the strategy and explaining all steps and alternatives, plus the response to the other side including a cease-and-desist undertaking.
From our practice: licence demands typically range €3,000 – €10,000. These amounts are often inflated relative to the actual use — the right strategy is what matters.
Pay as little as possible and minimise litigation risk. Which path gets us there — modified undertaking, waiting defence or targeted counter-argumentation — we decide together with you.
Our fee plus the amount you ultimately pay is typically noticeably below the original demand — particularly with low usage and higher starting demands.
These cease-and-desist letters hit freelancers, SMEs, online shops and restaurants alike — anywhere profiles are used with advertising intent (even merely supplementary).
Reels using music from the Instagram library — for business profiles or with any supplementary advertising intent, the library's licence does not cover the use. Even Reels deleted later are sometimes still pursued.
TikTok videos with licence-restricted sound recordings — here too the platform's licence does not cover commercial or advertising use. Frequently affected: brand accounts and influencer collaborations.
Facebook stories and Facebook Reels — the same underlying issue as on Instagram. Often a cease-and-desist letter only arrives weeks or months after publication.
YouTube Shorts can also be affected if the music library is licensed only for non-commercial use and the channel has an advertising character.
Pick up the phone — we discuss your options immediately. A first assessment costs nothing.
