May 23, 2023

Los Angeles, CA – In a recent legal development, the lawsuit filed by renowned composer Maria Schneider against YouTube has been denied class-action status by the court. Schneider’s lawsuit accused YouTube of copyright infringement and improper licensing practices, claiming that the video-sharing platform had failed to adequately compensate musicians and other artists for their work.

The decision to deny class-action status was made by Judge Amanda Thompson of the United States District Court for the Central District of California. Judge Thompson stated that Schneider’s lawsuit did not meet the requirements for class certification, as the proposed class of plaintiffs did not share common legal issues and their claims were not typical of one another.

Schneider’s lawsuit, originally filed in 2020, alleged that YouTube had allowed its users to upload copyrighted music without proper licensing agreements, resulting in significant financial losses for artists. Schneider, an acclaimed composer and advocate for musicians’ rights, sought to represent a class of thousands of musicians who believed they were victims of YouTube’s practices.

Despite the denial of class-action status, Maria Schneider’s individual claims against YouTube will proceed. Her legal team intends to continue pursuing the case on behalf of Schneider and any other affected artists individually. They argue that YouTube’s actions have had a detrimental impact on the livelihoods of musicians and demand fair compensation for the unauthorized use of their intellectual property.

YouTube, a subsidiary of Google’s parent company