Freeplay Music, a small music-licensing company, is suing four YouTube multichannel networks — Disney’s Maker Studios; AwesomenessTV and its Big Frame division; and BroadbandTV — alleging the MCNs have infringed hundreds of its copyrighted songs.
The lawsuits allege that Freeplay contacted the four MCNs about licensing the music, but that they were not willing to negotiate. The suits seek unspecified monetary damages and demand that the infringement cease.
“The systemic misappropriation of its copyrights without authorization has harmed our client,” said Oren Warshavsky, partner with law firm BakerHostetler, which is representing Freeplay. “We seek to right that wrong through this action.”
Meanwhile, earlier this month, two other YouTube MCNs — Machinima and Collective Digital Studio — filed their own lawsuits against Freeplay, calling the company a “copyright troll” that initially offered music it said was free to use then threatening to sue unless the MCNs entered into licensing deals. In a statement about the Machimina and CDS lawsuits, Freeplay said it is “preparing a response that will clearly demonstrate that the allegations and characterizations in the complaints are baseless.”
