Case Study: Michelle Phan vs. Ultra Records
About: Michelle Phan (Social Media Influencer), Ultra Records (Music Production Label)
Media: Video, Audio
Industry: Social Media, Music
Laws or Legal Case: Phan vs. Ultra Records – Copyright Infringement – United States District Court for the Central District of California
Website: https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28418449
Description:
Michelle Phan began her Youtube career in May 2007 where she created makeup tutorials. From there she grew to be one of the most successful beauty influencers on that platform. Her makeup tutorials garnered millions of views and led her to launch a beauty subscription service and her own makeup line. In July 2014 Ultra Records sued Michelle Phan for copyright infringement for using their artists’ music in the background of her videos.
Legal Issue at Stake:
Ultra Records pursued damages and injunctive relief from Michelle Phan for using their artists’ music in the background of her videos without their permission. This means that they required financial retribution as well as a halting of Phan’s behaviour against Ultra and their artists. The label sued for $150,000 for every infringement, which culminated to $7.5 million for damages.
Ultra demanded an injunction as to prevent Michelle Phan from causing any more harm to their business. They claimed that Michelle Phan was not only stealing their content but also profiting from their music, because Michelle Phan ‘s videos received millions of views. Phan was also receiving endorsements in her videos, as well as AdSense. AdSense is a service provided by Google for online creators to create money through advertisements that companies pay to have represented there. In this case, Phan received money through the many commercials that play during her videos. This popularity also led to 2 businesses and a book deal.
Michelle Phan claimed that Ultra’s lawsuit against her was completely unfair as she was given permission to use the songs. Her legal team stating that Ultra’s accusation “lacks any merit.” This is because in 2009 Phan approached Ultra and asked to use artist, Kaskade’s, songs in the background of her videos. She conversed with Jason Kilgore who was the Senior New Media Manager for Ultra, and he gave her permission to use the songs. In return, she must give credit in the descriptions of her videos along with links to purchase the songs on iTunes. Phan countersued and demanded declaratory judgement claiming that Ultra had given her a license to use the songs, and that she did not commit copyright infringement. In addition, she sought financial retribution based on the fact that Ultra had sued her with the intention of “fraud, oppression and malice” (Spangler, “Youtube Star Michelle Phan Countersues Dance Label Ultra Records”). In the end, the claims were dismissed and both parties came to a settlement. To this day there is no indication of what that deal was.
Case Summary
- Ultra Records sued Michelle Phan for using their songs in her videos without obtaining the proper license.
- Sought retribution for $7.5 million in damages.
- Michelle Phan’s counterclaim was that she did receive permission, but she had to give credit, which she did.
- Phan countersued for monetary damages as well as to receive declaratory judgement.
- Ultimately both parties settled the case privately and dismissed their claims.
Industry
Social Media, Music
Parties Involved
Michelle Phan: Social Media Influencer
Ultra Records: Music Label
United States District Court for the Central District of California
Laws and Legislation related to this article
Copyright Infringement
References and Works Cited
Gutelle, Sam. “Michelle Phan Launches Counterclaim Agains Ultra Records, Seeks Trial [DOCUMENTS].” Tubefilter. September 18, 2014. https://www.tubefilter.com/2014/09/18/michelle-phan-counterclaim-ultra-records-lawsuit/. Accessed on March 22, 2020.
“How AdSense Works.” AdSense Help. N.d. https://support.google.com/adsense/answer/6242051?hl=en. Accessed on March 29, 2020
Rawlinson, Kevin. “Youtube Star Michelle Phan sued over copyright breach.” BBC News. July 22, 2014. https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-28418449. Accessed on March 16, 2020.
Spangler, Todd. “Youtube Star Michelle Phan Countersues Dance Label Ultra Records.” Variety. September 18, 2014. https://variety.com/2014/digital/news/youtube-star-michelle-phan-countersues-dance-label-ultra-records-1201308374/. Accessed March 28, 2020.
Ulloa, Nina. “Michelle Phan Speaks Out Against Ultra Records…” Digital Music News. July 22 2014. https://www.digitalmusicnews.com/2014/07/22/ultra-vs-phan/. Accessed March 29, 2020.
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