Imagine a world bereft of Shakespearean adaptations. No Royal Shakespeare Company productions. No Shakespeare in the Park showings. No Lion King. Seminal 2011 animated film Gnomeo and Juliet—Romeo and Juliet but with gnomes—would not exist.

The world is better with Shakespeare, and other classical authors, firmly in the public domain. Not only does free use of these works enable individuals to transform and create new works on existing art, but it allows the public to easily access important cultural resources.

A new lawsuit filed in the Central District of California by students Selina Li (’26) and Isabella Yang (’26) from the SLS Juelsgaard Intellectual Property & Innovation Clinic (JIPIC) and co-counsel seeks to keep Shakespeare’s works freely available to all.

John Underwood, an Orange County-based videographer, is dedicated to promoting Shakespeare. For years, he has been posting video performances by local nonprofit troupe Shakespeare by the Sea (SbtS), with their permission, to his YouTube channel. These recordings have been widely viewed for free in the community and have served as a valuable educational tool for local teachers and students.

Last year, he received notice that, subject to a Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown request, two of his recordings—The Taming of the Shrew and All’s Well That Ends Well—had been removed by YouTube and that his channel had received a copyright strike. The source of the DMCA takedown request was Julien Coallier, a Canadian who claimed ownership “over all Shakespeare plays.” In 2012, he registered a copyright for Shakespeare works that he claimed were “translated from poem formation to play formation.” And Underwood was not the only victim. Coallier has submitted more than 50 other DMCA takedown requests against hobbyists, colleges, and publishers who had uploaded video recordings of Shakespeare plays or posted Shakespeare-based texts online.

Following Coallier’s takedowns, Underwood contacted SbtS. The troupe informed him that they had never heard of “Julien Coallier,” nor had they used his “translations” to adapt their Shakespeare productions. Moreover, SbtS has been performing The Taming of the Shrew since 1999, well before Coallier registered his copyright. But Coallier’s claim had nevertheless succeeded in getting YouTube to remove the videos of the SbtS performances.

The DMCA takedown process allows copyright owners to request removal from online platforms of material they claim infringes their copyright. It was designed to protect legitimate intellectual property rights, not to block access to public domain works like Shakespeare plays. Under Section 512(f) of the DMCA, people who knowingly misrepresent reports can be subject to damages.

When YouTube told John Underwood about Coallier’s takedown notice, Underwood submitted a DMCA counter notice challenging the validity of Coallier’s requests. But YouTube ignored that counter notice. Instead of looking closely at Coallier’s meritless copyright claim and following the DMCA procedures to restore the video, YouTube told Underwood to negotiate with Coallier directly.

Hoping to learn more about Coallier’s claims, Underwood and one of his colleagues reached out via email. Coallier declined several requests to explain how the video copied his supposed “translations” of Shakespeare plays. Instead, he contended that “any claim Shakespeare is public domain is false as fact.” Coallier also directed Underwood to his website (WilliamShakespearePlayWright.com), where he is selling “playright[sic]” licenses for upwards of $249.99 Canadian, along with a 5% royalty on all ticket sales. If professional or festival organizations— like those in Underwood’s videos — wanted to perform Shakespeare, the licensing price would jump to at least $574.99.

Coallier’s claim is an abuse of the DMCA and an attempt to profit off of the public domain. His bogus demands demonstrate the importance of maintaining guardrails for the copyright takedown system. Underwood was only able to get YouTube to restore his videos after he retained legal counsel. But many creators—amateurs and hobbyists— do not have the same resources or avenues for recourse.

This scenario underscores the need for detailed review in YouTube’s takedown screening process and in copyright registration. The new Juelsgaard Clinic complaint, supervised by Clinic Director Phil Malone and Supervising Attorney Nina Srejovic and filed with co-counsel Paul Levy of Public Citizen and Corey Donaldson of Ferguson Case Orr Paterson, seeks a declaration from the court that Underwood’s videos of SbtS performances don’t violate any copyright Coallier may have. The complaint also seeks monetary relief from Coallier’s DMCA wrongful takedown.

In addition, the lawsuit also asks the court to refer this matter to the United States Copyright Office to reconsider the validity of Coallier’s registration. Coallier deposited only two “translated” plays out of his purported collection of 37 plays to the copyright office, violating the legal deposit requirements for copyright.

The complaint aims to curb Coallier’s flagrant abuse of the DMCA copyright takedown system. Some of the other creators that had their Shakespeare-related content removed by Coallier’s takedowns have not been as successful in getting their works restored as Underwood. In the broader context, this case should send a message to other individuals who seek to take improper advantage of the copyright takedown system.

The lawsuit also should encourage YouTube to review takedown notices more carefully and more faithfully follow the DMCA counter-notice and replacement procedures, which do not always properly protect the rights of the posters of legitimate and non-infringing content. This system has been difficult for many content creators, especially those who cannot afford legal representation to challenge takedown notices.

Co-counsel Paul Levy of Public Citizen has written about this case in his blogpost here.

UPDATE: On October 5, 2025, the district court issued a Final Judgment and Permanent Injunction finding that JIPIC’s client Mr. Underwood prevailed in this lawsuit by default judgment  on September 25 (the defendant did not appear to contest the claims). The court declared that Mr. Underwood’s posting of recordings of Shakespeare by the Sea performances to his YouTube channel did not and do not infringe any valid copyright owned by Defendant Coallier. The court enjoined Coallier from asserting or threatening to assert any further copyright claims based on his purported ownership of copyright in any works based on Shakespeare’s works, and from submitting any further DMCA takedown notices based on such purported copyrights. And the court ordered Coallier to pay our client’s attorneys’ fees of $19,983.69 and costs of $2027.46, plus post-judgment interest.