This copyright Scott-Hervey-10-webcase pitted two big YouTube content brands against each other over issues of fair use. On one side is Equals Three, LLC, a YouTube content studio and channel created and owned by Ray William Johnson, an early YouTube content pioneer. The Equals Three channel has over 10 million subscribers and over 3 billion total views making it one of the most viewed channels on YouTube. Equals Three produces YouTube comedy content. A typical program involves a host who gives an introduction to a particular video clip, shows parts of video clips (which are usually shown in edited form and inset within a decorative graphical frame) and tells humorous or provides humorous commentary about the events and people presented in the clip. Each program is roughly five minutes long and typically features three segments, each of which centers around a different video.

One the other side is Jukin Media, Inc. Jukin is a digital media company that primarily acquires user generated video content and distributes and monetizes such content over multiple online platforms and traditional media outlets, produces and licenses. Jukin acquires the user-generated content by using a research and acquisitions team of eleven people to scour the internet for videos likely to become sensationally popular. Once Jukin acquires the rights to user-generated content, it uploads the video to its YouTube channel and its own websites. Jukin makes money from these videos by ad-supported or subscription-based platforms. Jukin also licenses these videos to other digital, television and cable shows.Continue Reading Court Provides Fair Use Guidance On YouTuber’s Use of Viral Video