The trade association for music publishers denies accusations of anti-competitive activity by the exercise-bike manufacturer.against exercise-bike manufacturer Peloton are denying that they conspired with the trade organization National Music Publishers Assn to collude against the company, according to documents filed in New York federal court on Monday .
The Monday filing, a motion to dismiss Peloton’s counterclaim, accuses Peloton of resorting to the “timeworn tactic of asserting a baseless antitrust counterclaim" against the publishers in response to their original suit. They allege that Peloton’s counterclaim fails to establish either collusion on the part of the publishers or interference on the part of the NMPA and should therefore “be dismissed in their entirety with prejudice.
“Beyond the allegation that the ‘Coordinating Publishers’ all cut off negotiations at the same time, Peloton has alleged no facts circumstantially raising an inference of collusion,” the motion continues. “It focuses on the ‘Coordinating Publishers’’ participation in the same trade association…but mere participation in trade associations and industry events is not, by itself, evidence of collusion.
The motion additionally disputes Peloton's "tortious interference" claim by stating that because the NMPA was motivated by the economic interests of its member companies and not solely by the intention of inflicting harm on Peloton, its conduct “cannot constitute intentional infliction of harm” under New York law “unless it is fraudulent or criminal.