Tyler Oliveira Sues YouTuber Nick Johnson Over Alleged False Copyright Strike on Documentary
3 min readYouTuber Tyler Oliveira has announced that he is taking legal action against fellow content creator Nick Johnson for allegedly issuing a false copyright strike on a documentary Oliveira filmed in Hawaii. In a video titled This YouTuber is ILLEGALLY Trying to Delete My Channel, the 24-year-old Oliveira expressed his frustration with the situation and accused Johnson of abusing YouTube’s copyright system to unjustly take down his content.
Tyler Oliveira explained the situation in detail, revealing that he woke up to find that one of his videos had been removed due to a copyright claim filed by Johnson. The video in question is a 33-minute documentary that Oliveira and his team produced in Hawaii, and the claim was based on a mere four-second clip used within it. Oliveira pointed out that the clip fell under fair use, as it was part of a transformative, educational, and newsworthy piece of content. He emphasized that this type of misuse of the copyright tool is a common tactic among “bad actors” on the platform.
YouTuber Tyler Oliveira is SUING another YouTuber Nick Johnson following copyright abuse allegedly.
He used a 4 second clip, which was struck, according to Tyler. pic.twitter.com/gzKvttAnFu— DramaAlert (@DramaAlert) September 3, 2024Advertisement
“All right. I am suing another YouTuber,” Tyler Oliveira began, clearly exasperated. “This morning, I woke up to a copyright claim, a complete video takedown, and a strike on my channel for a four-second clip of a 33-minute documentary we made in Hawaii. Every bad actor in YouTube history always abuses the copyright tool. You can falsely copyright claim a video that falls under fair use, is entirely transformative, and in this case, is educational and a news piece.”
Despite the legal action, Oliveira insisted that he harbors no personal animosity toward Nick Johnson. He even acknowledged that he has enjoyed some of Johnson’s content in the past and had no prior issues with him. “The YouTuber who copyright claimed my video does very similar content. I’ve watched a lot of his videos. I enjoy some of them. There’s no beef I thought we had,” Oliveira noted, further highlighting the unreasonable nature of the copyright strike.
Oliveira also criticized Johnson for not attempting to resolve the matter privately before resorting to a copyright claim. “If he really cared this much, he could’ve DM’d me. He could’ve emailed me. We could’ve had a conversation,” Oliveira said, suggesting that Johnson’s decision to issue the strike was a deliberate misuse of the system.
He went on to explain how easily the YouTube copyright tool can be abused, pointing out that even a wrongful claim can result in a video being taken down for an extended period, potentially damaging a creator’s channel. “It’s an easily abusable system and a lot of people abuse it. Including Nick Johnson,” Oliveira stated.
As of now, Nick Johnson has not responded publicly to Oliveira’s video or the impending lawsuit. The situation underscores ongoing concerns within the YouTube community about the platform’s copyright system, which many creators believe is too easily manipulated.
Tyler Oliveira’s decision to take legal action highlights a growing frustration among content creators with how copyright claims are handled on YouTube, and it may spark further discussions about the need for reform in the platform’s policies. The outcome of this legal battle could set a precedent for how similar cases are addressed in the future.