Geller v. Sapient (Letter)

Geller sent a DMCA takedown notice to YouTube, alleging that the NOVA clip infringed his copyrights in the charity performance film. As a result,
YouTube removed the video from its website and suspended Sapient's account.

On May 8, 2007, Sapient, with the help of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, filed a lawsuit alleging that Geller's takedown notice knowingly, materially misrepresented a claim of copyright infringement in violation of section 512(f) of the DMCA [1] because no reasonable person could believe that the NOVA clip's use of the excerpted footage was not fair use. Sapient seeks damages, a declaratory judgment the video does not infringe Geller's copyrights, and an order restraining Geller from bringing further actions against Sapient in respect of the video.

(See also CMLP's entry for the related case, Explorologist v. Sapient [2], a suit brought by Geller's company against Sapient in Pennsylvania alleging that the publication of the footage breaches Explorologist's copyrights under UK law.)

UPDATE: Defendants filed a motion to dismiss the case due to lack of subject-matter jurisdiction, lack of personal jurisdiction, and insufficiency of allegations surrounding the content of the takedown notice. The defendants also moved to change venue to the Eastern District Pennsylvania, where the Explorogist v. Sapient [2] case is being heard. On Feb. 4, 2008, the court granted the motion to dismiss as to personal jurisdiction, primarily because the DMCA takedown notice was sent from outside the United States. The court noted that Sapient may now bring his misrepresentation claim against Geller as a counterclaim in the Explorologist case.