March 5 (Reuters) - X, the social media platform owned

by Elon Musk, on Tuesday won the dismissal of most of a lawsuit

by 17 music publishers that accused it of infringing copyrights

on nearly 1,700 songs by letting people post music online

without permission.

U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger in Nashville, Tennessee

said the publishers could not pursue a theory of "comprehensive

general liability for infringement" against X, which Musk bought

for $44 billion in Oct. 2022.

She dismissed two infringement claims, and dismissed a third

claim for "contributory" infringement except for accusations

that X did not properly police "verified" users and serial

infringers, and failed to act on takedown notices fast enough.

Lawyers for the publishers did not immediately respond to

requests for comment. Alex Spiro, a lawyer for X, declined to

comment.

Sony Music, Universal Music and other

members of the National Music Publishers' Association trade

group had sued X last June, seeking more than $250 million of

damages.

They accused X of routinely ignoring and encouraging

copyright infringement, giving it a leg up on platforms such as

Meta Platforms' ( META ) Facebook, Google's YouTube

and ByteDance's TikTok that properly license music.

The publishers also said the problem had gotten worse since

Musk bought Twitter.

But in a 21-page decision, Trauger said X was not liable for

direct infringement, reflecting the distinction in federal

copyright law between active participants in infringement, and

parties such as X that merely provide a platform for it.

She also said X was not liable for "vicarious" infringement,

saying it was not responsible to police how posts were drafted

or obtain copyright permission in advance.

"X Corp undoubtedly had some power over X/Twitter's users

-the way that a company that provides a valued service always

has power over the customers who rely on it - but that does not

turn customers into even loose equivalents of agents or

subordinates," Trauger wrote.

Music publishers represent copyrights for songwriters, not

for songs themselves.

The case is Concord Music Group Inc et al v X Corp, U.S.

District Court, Middle District of Tennessee, No. 23-00606.