Shore News Network says it will not settle a copyright lawsuit filed by FreedomNews.TV owner Oliya Fedun, arguing the case is based on the lawful embedding and reporting of publicly available YouTube content.
Shore News Network is preparing for a court battle against FreedomNews.TV owner Oliya Fedun, better known online as “Oliya Scootercaster,” after a copyright infringement lawsuit that the company’s attorneys describe as legally meritless and contrary to established fair-use protections for journalists.
In a June 3 legal letter, First Amendment attorney Marc Randazza made clear that Shore News Network has no intention of backing down.
“If you were expecting Shore Media to cave, you were mistaken,” Randazza wrote.
Key Points
• Shore News Network says it will aggressively defend against the lawsuit
• Attorneys argue the dispute involves content published through YouTube’s licensing framework
• Defense cites multiple federal court decisions rejecting similar copyright claims
The video and screenshot in question related to a New York City Police Department nationwide manhunt for suspects who shut down the New York City subway system in 2023. Shore News Network published a “wanted” photo issued by the NYPD that showed the suspects wanted for that crime and embedded the YouTube video referenced by the New York City Police Department.
Those suspects were eventually captured, but Fedun, who says the company owes her $25,000 for embedding that video.
“We tried to negotiate this fairly with their lawyer, Lelsie Gillis, but Gillis says the fee to embed a YouTube video under the YouTube license is $25,000 to make this frivolous lawsuit go away,” said Phil Stilton, Editor of Shore News Network and United States Marine Corps veteran. “I’d rather give that $25,000 to our lawyer and then seek reimbursement and damages from Freedomnews.Tv for this extremely frivolous and legally deficient lawsuit.”
Stilton says Gillis is fully aware of the law and that this is nothing more than an attorney trying to shake down a small media company to enrich herself and her client fraudulently.
“We will win,” he added. “And we will seek attorney’s fees and damages from Fedun.”
The defense argues that YouTube’s own Terms of Service expressly permit publishers to display and embed content through platform features, making the infringement claims unsustainable.
Attorneys argue YouTube license defeats claim
Randazza’s letter states that the original content was uploaded under YouTube’s licensing system, which grants other users the ability to display and embed videos through authorized platform features.
“Your client’s claim is also barred by the May 6, 2023, YouTube Terms of Service,” the letter states.
According to the defense, Shore’s use was limited to content made available through YouTube’s platform and therefore cannot form the basis for a copyright infringement claim.
Shore cites recent Lynk Media defeat
The letter also cites recent federal case law involving copyright claims against news organizations.
Randazza specifically referenced Lynk Media LLC v. Townsquare Media, Inc., where a federal court found the challenged use to be de minimis and non-actionable.
The defense further points to court rulings holding that isolated screenshots or minimal portions of longer videos often fail to meet the threshold necessary to support copyright liability.
Lynkmedia, Freedomnews.tv, and Fedun have been filing multiple lawsuits in federal court in the past year suing publishers for embedding her videos on YouTube and X. Most end with settlement.
“There will be no settlement here, we will stop this IP troll in her tracks,” Stilton said. “She and her lawyer are trying to change case law to make their IP trolling enterprise a profit center. This is nothing but extortion, and they know it.”
Shore calls lawsuit an attack on news reporting
The legal response argues that the case is part of a broader trend of copyright litigation targeting news organizations reporting on public events.
“Your client is a copyright troll,” Randazza wrote, accusing plaintiffs of acquiring rights to newsworthy content and then pursuing lawsuits against media outlets covering those events.
The letter argues that using copyright law to target reporting on public events undermines the purpose of fair use and threatens journalism involving matters of public concern.
Shore signals it is ready for court
Rather than pursuing a quick settlement, Shore News Network says it intends to challenge the claims head-on.
“There is an easy and a hard way to go about this,” Randazza wrote. “You can let the complaint die, or we can fight this out in court.”
For Shore News Network, that fight has already begun, but Stilton says he has a message for other media outlets sharing Fedun’s videos from this month’s riots at Delaney Hall.
“They will be next for this ridiculous Ukrainian copyright troll,” he said.
PHOTO: Przemysl, Poland. 13th Apr, 2022. America based Ukrainian Film maker Oliya Scootercaster of FreedomNews.TV outside of PrzemysÅ‚ Train station, Poland, preparing to go visit her grandmother in Ukraine. (Credit Image: © Amy Katz/ZUMA Press Wire) – Licensed through Alamy.
Lynk Media, LLC is an active plaintiff in numerous intellectual property lawsuits, primarily filing copyright infringement claims against major media and entertainment companies for the unauthorized online use, display, and embedding of news videos and photographic images. [1, 2]
Lynk Media’s recent and prominent copyright (IP) lawsuits in federal courts include, many of which were settled out of court.
Major Documented Lawsuits
- Peacock TV LLC / NBCUniversal Media (S.D.N.Y., Case No. 1:23-cv-05845): Sued for using videos (including one of the “Four Seasons Total Landscaping” press conference) without a license in the 2020 election documentary. The defendants’ motion to dismiss was rejected, and the case was later settled.
- Mediaite, LLC (S.D.N.Y., Case No. 1:24-cv-00029): Sued over embedded videos, prompting notable legal precedent regarding whether embedding content from X (formerly Twitter) constitutes copyright infringement in New York.
- IHeartMedia, Inc. (W.D. Tex., Case No. 5:24-cv-00691 / 5:25-cv-00840): Sued over allegations that the network copied and prominently displayed copyrighted videos on their platforms without authorization.
- Townsquare Media, Inc. (S.D.N.Y., Case No. 7:24-cv-04222): Sued over embedding a video into an online article. The court ruled that embedding the video could proceed, but dismissed claims regarding trivial screenshots, referencing specific Copyright Infringement Evidence.
- Independent Digital News and Media, LLC (S.D.N.Y., Case No. 1:24-cv-00583): A copyright case involving the embedding of third-party posts without fair-use clearance.
- The Wrap News, Inc. (S.D.N.Y. / E.D. Cal., Case No. 2:26-cv-02238): Sued for copyright infringement.
- Audacy New York LLC (S.D.N.Y.): Sued over unauthorized use of video and stills from a 2020 Black Lives Matter/Statue of Liberty protest story. These specific Copyright Suits were settled and dismissed.
- Shore Media & Marketing (D.N.J., Case No. 2:26-cv-05225): A recently filed copyright infringement lawsuit with a jury demand regarding unauthorized use of an original video.
- Straight Arrow News, LLC (D. Neb., Case No. 8:2025-cv-00673): A property rights/copyright lawsuit filed against the media organization.
- Recount Media, Inc. (S.D.N.Y., Case No. 1:25-cv-02050): Copyright infringement lawsuit filed regarding unauthorized display of media.
- Olympic Media LLC (S.D. Fla., Case No. 9:23-cv-81221): Copyright dispute involving the unauthorized distribution of property.
