01What happened
The story, straight
Warner Bros. has filed a counterclaim against YouTube film critic Andrew Dayne Sosa over his use of a Batman poster and screenshots in a review of The Batman (2022). Sosa had originally sued the studio under Section 512(f) of the DMCA, alleging Warner Bros. improperly used copyright law to get his review taken down via a takedown notice to YouTube. Warner Bros. withdrew the notice and Sosa's video was restored, but Sosa claims the reinstatement came too late and the video never recovered its original reach. The studio's counterclaim escalates the legal dispute over what constitutes fair use in film criticism on YouTube.
warner bros is countersuing andrew dayne sosa, a youtube film critic who reviewed The Batman (2022) using a poster and screenshots. sosa sued them first under DMCA 512(f) after they sent youtube a takedown notice that killed his video. WB withdrew the notice and the video came back, but sosa says the damage was done — the reach never recovered. now WB is firing back with a counterclaim. fair use fight is officially on.
02Spread timeline
Where it actually started
03Source receipts
Every claim, linked
04What's solid, what isn't
What's solid and what isn't
- Andrew Dayne Sosa is a YouTube film critic who reviewed The Batman (2022) using a poster and screenshots.
- Warner Bros. sent a DMCA takedown notice to YouTube that removed Sosa's review.
- Sosa sued Warner Bros. under Section 512(f) of the DMCA, alleging false copyright claims.
- Warner Bros. withdrew the takedown notice and the video was restored.
- Warner Bros. has filed a counterclaim against Sosa.
- Sosa's claim that the video never recovered its original reach after being restored.
- The specific legal arguments Warner Bros. is making in the counterclaim.
- The court has not yet ruled on either Sosa's original suit or WB's counterclaim.
05Why it matters
The editorial take
This case sits at the intersection of fair use doctrine and corporate copyright enforcement — a space where independent creators have long felt outgunned. If Warner Bros.' counterclaim succeeds, it could chill film criticism on YouTube by signaling that studios will aggressively pursue reviewers who use promotional imagery, even in clearly editorial contexts. The outcome may set precedent for how Section 512(f) protections work in practice for small creators challenging major rights holders.
this is the exact scenario youtubers have been screaming about for years — a major studio using DMCA as a weapon against a small critic. if WB wins a counterclaim here, every film reviewer on the platform is thinking about what posters and screenshots they can safely use. the chilling effect is the point.