YouTuber Ethan Klein has been sued for $50 million by Triller Fight Club after illegally using footage from the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren boxing match – which they hosted.
The lawsuit references Klein’s H3 Podcast YouTube channel – which featured a clip from the boxing match that Klein used while speaking on Paul’s legendary win against Askren.
Moreover, Triller Fight Club has filed an additional $100 million lawsuit in the US District Court for the Central District of California for pirated copies of the Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren match that were shared online. The lawsuit – which initially included the H3 Podcast as well as other defendants – was rejected by the court. Shortly after, Triller filed another lawsuit against the H3 Podcast – who is the only defendant in the case – for copyright infringement, violations of the Federal Communications Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.
Matt St. Claire – the Head of Piracy at Triller – mentions that the illegal use of the broadcast was “outright theft” and that the lawsuit was necessary in order to hold people accountable:
“The fines are calculated at $150,000 per instance, so for H3 and other sites who rebroadcast the event to many people, the (potential) damages are large. We are taking this position because it is outright theft. It is no different than walking into a store and stealing a video game off the shelf”.
Klein responded to the lawsuit – stating that it was unreasonable for Triller to single handedly blame his podcast channel for illegal usage of the footage:
“Here’s what’s interesting, the judge threw out the lawsuit and they only refiled against one person, guess who that is? H3H3. I’m the only person they refiled against. Pretty interesting, right. Their 100 million dollars of alleged losses, this incredible conspiracy to defraud them of $100m all comes down to the H3 podcast watching a 45-second clip and fair usage, five days after the live event. And they have suffered catastrophic loss as a result”.
Triller and Klien are currently in settlement talks – with Klein firmly standing by his argument that the footage was legally used by him and the H3 Podcast.