August 2014

Obviously, on a site such as this one, we republish lots of photos, which occasionally leads to the odd Copyright claim. Luckily, most people/companies are reasonable about this, and recognise the promotional value of our site (with one very big and famous exception). Our case is relatively straightforward though, as it is basically an internet version of a newspaper/magazine (which have fair use rights), and we promote our sources directly. But what about other new media, such as YouTube?

Super cute and highly successful video blogger Michelle Phan (featured here on our old site) has always made a point of supporting and promoting the music she uses in her videos, so she assumed she’d be safe. But apparently not—she’s being sued by Ultra Records, for the outrageous sum of $150,000 per infringement! This is in spite of the fact that at least one of the artists in question (Kaskade) are hugely supportive of Michelle, and greatly appreciate the free publicity she’s given them.

I should make it clear that I personally very strongly support the right of artists to be paid for their work. However, the sort of thing Michelle is doing is clearly a huge net benefit for the artists whose work she uses, as they themselves recognise. I therefore find this lawsuit absolutely outrageous and stupid. What do you think?