A federal judge has dismissed the part of Designer Shoe Warehouse’s declaratory judgment lawsuit that targeted Sony Music Entertainment.
Judge Michael H. Watson of the US District Court for the Southern District of Ohio granted the Sony defendants’ motion to dismiss, finding the retailer’s complaint against them was an “anticipatory filing” made to get ahead of an expected infringement suit from Sony.
The order, submitted to the parallel case that Sony filed against DSW in California, means the retailer’s request for a ruling that it did not infringe Sony‘s copyrights must give way to that infringement case.
The judge did not reach Sony‘s alternative argument that the Ohio court lacked personal jurisdiction over the labels.
The dismissal applies only to the Sony Music Entertainment defendants, which alone brought the motion, leaving DSW’s claims against Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music and BMG in the same complaint still before the court.
DSW, its parent company Designer Brands Inc., and footwear brand Topo Athletic filed the declaratory judgment complaint in July 2025, naming five rightsholders: Sony Music Entertainment, Sony Music Publishing, UMG Recordings, Universal Music Publishing and BMG Rights Management.
The retailer asked the court to declare that music it used in social media posts did not infringe the labels’ copyrights, arguing the tracks were covered by licensing deals between the labels and platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.
In February 2026, the court allowed a group of independent artists and songwriters to file an amicus brief in the case, taking neither side.
It was not the first time DSW had been drawn into the music industry’s copyright enforcement.
On May 1, 2025, Warner Music Group affiliates led by Atlantic Recording Corporation had sued Designer Brands in the same Ohio court, accusing the retailer of using more than 200 recordings and compositions in TikTok and Instagram posts without a license.
The Warner complaint listed tracks including Up by Cardi B and Dreams by Fleetwood Mac, and sought statutory damages of up to USD $150,000 per work, a sum that could exceed USD $30 million across the tracks at issue.
DSW‘s licensing defense runs up against a precedent the labels have already secured.
In 2022, a federal court in Florida granted a group of Universal Music companies partial summary judgment on liability for direct copyright infringement against energy-drink maker Vital Pharmaceuticals, the company behind Bang Energy, over unlicensed music in roughly 140 TikTok videos.
US District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas held that the company’s belief that TikTok had licensed the music was “at most, relevant to the issue of damages, not to the issue of liability.”
The DSW cases sit within a wider campaign by the major music companies against brands that use recordings in social media marketing, with Sony, Universal and Warner bringing comparable claims against companies including Marriott, cookie chain Crumbl, Chili’s owner Brinker International and the University of Southern California.
Judge Watson‘s order leaves room for the Sony dispute to return to Ohio.
The judge pointed to a pending motion to move Sony‘s California infringement case to the Southern District of Ohio, writing that the court “will welcome the return of this litigation” if the transfer is granted.
For now, Sony‘s infringement claims proceed in California, where the label alleges DSW and its influencers used at least 122 of its recordings in more than 170 unauthorized video promotions.
DSW‘s declaratory judgment claims against the Sony Music Publishing, Universal Music, and BMG rightsholders remain live in OhioMusic Business Worldwide
