This website provides information and updates relating to The Football Association Premier League Limited, et. al. v. YouTube, Inc., et al., (also referred to as the YouTube Class Action), a copyright infringement class action pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

 

This action was filed on May 4, 2007 by the Football Association Premier League Limited (the “Premier League”) and Bourne Co. (“Bourne”) to stop the unauthorized and uncompensated use of their creative works and those of all other similarly situated copyright holders whose works have been displayed without permission on the YouTube.net website.  The lawsuit names as defendants two YouTube affiliates (YouTube, Inc. and YouTube LLC), as well as YouTube’s corporate parent, Google, Inc. (together, the “Defendants”).

According to the complaint, the Defendants have willfully violated the intellectual property rights that were created and made valuable by the investment – sometimes the life-long investment – of creativity, time, talent, energy, and resources of content producers other than the Defendants.  The complaint asserts several legal claims against the Defendants, including direct copyright infringement, contributory copyright infringement, and vicarious copyright infringement.

Plaintiffs seek a court-ordered injunction to prohibit the Defendants from continuing to violate various laws designed to protect the intellectual property rights of copyright owners such as the Premier League and Bourne.  The lawsuit also asks for unspecified damages for the Defendants' past copyright violations.

The Premier League is the top division of English soccer that is viewed by audiences in over 200 countries worldwide and estimated at 2.59 billion people. Bourne is one of the leading independent publishers of music in the United States.  Among its notable classics are "Let’s Fall in Love" and "Smile."

ATTORNEY ADVERTISING/DISCLAIMER

 

For Proskauer Rose LLP:

Louis M. Solomon

William M. Hart

 

For Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP:

 John Browne

Ben Galdston

Lauren McMillen

Information regarding the bar admissions of the attorneys at
Proskauer Rose LLP and
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP
may be viewed via the links to the respective firms' websites.

 

Proskauer Rose LLP
1585 Broadway 
New York, NY  10036-8299

Tel: 212.969.3000

Fax: 212.969.2900
www.proskauer.com
Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP
1285 Avenue of the Americas
New York, NY 10019
Tel: 212.554.1400
Fax: 212.554.1444
www.blbglaw.com
Key Developments

November 26, 2008 - Lead Plaintiffs file a Second Amended Class Action Complaint that, among other things, includes new factual allegations relating to Defendants' violation of the copyright laws and extends the period of liability back to April 2005. Click here to view a redacted copy of Lead Plaintiffs' Second Amended Complaint.

December 3, 2007 - YouTube and Google Answer Lead Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint. Click here to view Defendants’ Answer.

November 6, 2007 - Lead Plaintiffs File Amended Class Action Complaint that includes 15 new named plaintiffs, including the National Music Publishers’ Association, French Tennis Association and the Scottish Premier League. Click here to view Lead Plaintiffs’ Amended Complaint.

August 6, 2007 - Copyright Class Action Against Google/YouTube Gains Support of National Music Publishers’ Association, Robert Tur, Sports Bodies and Others. Click here to view Lead Plaintiffs’ press release regarding these and other recent developments.

July 27, 2007 - Judge Stanton Appoints Proskauer Rose And Bernstein Litowitz As Interim Class Counsel On Behalf Of The Premier League And Bourne And The Putative Class. Click here to view the order.

June 27, 2007 - Copyright Class Action Against YouTube/Google Gains Additional Support From The Association of European Professional Football Leagues. Click here to view the press release.

June 6, 2007 - Copyright Class action against YouTube/Google Gains Significant Support from Leading Music Publishers and International Sports Organizations. Click here to view Lead Plaintiffs' press release. Click here to view press release from Cherry Lane Music Publishing Co., one of the World's leading independent music publishers. Click here to view press release from The Federation Francaise de Tennis, France’s national tennis organization and the organizer of the French Open, and the Ligue de Football Professionnel, one of the top professional football leagues in the world.

May 21, 2007 - Judge Stanton Issues Order Scheduling Initial Conference for July 27, 2007.   Click here to view the Order.

May 4, 2007 - The Premier League and Bourne File Class Action Complaint Against YouTube and Google.  Click here to view the Class Action Complaint.

May 4, 2007- Click here to view Press Release regarding filing of Complaint.
For additional information:
Email your request to info@youtubeclassaction.net
Call us at 866-725-0516