Aug 15, 2022 12:48:00

It turned out that an unrelated company claiming copyright was unfairly gaining YouTube's revenue of 3 billion yen or more

Using YouTube's automatic content identification system ``

Content ID '', a duo who unfairly obtained $ 23 million (about 3.1 billion yen) in about four years is on trial. This music royalty scam, said to be the largest in YouTube history, 'steals' royalties from the songs of the most successful Latin singer Julio Iglesias , Puerto Rican artists Daddy Yankee , and Anuel AA . ' was very simple.

YouTube Fraud Led to $23 Million in Royalties for 2 Men, IRS Says – Billboard
https://www.billboard.com/pro/youtube-fraud-royalties-scam-irs-latin-chenel-yenddi-mediamuv-adrev/

The largest YouTube royalties heist in history is just a spotlight on a much larger problem. | Mashable
https://mashable.com/article/youtube-copyright-royalties-heist

YouTube has introduced a 'content ID' to identify whether uploaded content is protected. If the content ID matches, the copyright holder can block the video from being viewed, place ads on the video and possibly share revenue with the uploader, or track statistics about the video's viewers. You can take either action.

Content IDs are not necessarily managed directly by copyright holders, but are often managed collectively by copyright management companies. AdRev is also one of the copyright management companies known for its content ID support on YouTube.

Defendants Jose Medina Terran and Webster Batista, who were sued in this issue, established a company called 'MediaMuv'. They sent AdRev false documents claiming they owned the copyrights to over 50,000 Latin songs and left them to collect the copyrights on their behalf. In addition to acting as a collection agency, AdRev helped Terran and Batista to directly access YouTube's content management system and claim their own copyright.

The two have been carrying out this ``royalty fraud'' since 2017 and earned $23 million in about four years, but an investigation by the United States Internal Revenue Service (IRS) found them guilty of wire fraud, money laundering, and identity theft. was exposed and prosecuted.

Defendant Batista admitted to some charges in response to a plea bargain and revealed to the court how the fraud by MediaMuv was done. Meanwhile, Terran has pleaded not guilty and is awaiting trial in November 2022.