Bad Bunny has sued a concertgoer who refused to take down videos posted to YouTube containing “substantial portions” of his recent show in Utah, according to a lawsuit filed by the reggaeton artist.
The rare legal dispute over copyright infringement, fair use of an artist’s work and the promotional value of fan videos online was triggered by a response from the YouTuber who posted the videos.
The complaint filed in a federal court in California last week alleges that Eric Guillermo Madroñal Garrone, the founder and owner of the YouTube channel MADforliveMUSIC, was asked to remove 10 videos featuring several of Bad Bunny’s full songs from his concert at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City on Feb. 21.
The videos contained “unauthorized bootleg” footage that infringed on Bad Bunny’s copyrights, the complaint alleges, prompting the singer to submit a takedown request through YouTube to have the videos removed from the platform.
Madroñal Garrone responded to the request with a formal counternotice defending his right to post the videos, citing his rights to freedom of expression and arguing the footage showed a “newsworthy event of high public interest,” according to evidence attached to the complaint by Bad Bunny’s attorneys.
Bad Bunny’s Salt Lake City concert served as the kickoff of his “Most Wanted Tour” in North America.
Following Madroñal Garrone’s response, YouTube notified Bad Bunny the platform would not be able to proceed with the takedown request unless he responded with evidence of legal action, according to evidence attached to the complaint by Bad Bunny’s attorneys.
As of Thursday, the MADforliveMUSIC YouTube channel was not available. It’s unclear if Madroñal Garrone had monetized the contents of his channel.
YouTube did not respond to a request for comment.
TikTok and Instagram pages that appear to be connected to the MADforliveMUSIC YouTube channel remain operational as of Thursday.
Madroñal Garrone did not respond to…
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