Sassy Saints review copyright claim
On September 27 2024, YouTube creator Lots of Love, Cindy posted a video review of a nail kit made by the British company Sassy Saints, providing her opinion and experiences with the product.[1]
On February 6th 2025, Sassy Saints issued a copyright strike against her channel, claiming unauthorized use of their copyrighted content.[2]
Background[edit | edit source]
Sassy Saints is a British company offering a range of beauty kits targeting the home market, with their stated mission being "to bring salon-quality treatments right to your home".[3] Cindy purchased one of their nail manicure kits and produced a video review describing her experience with the kit. She talked about how the kit required some getting used to and provided viewers some tips on how to use the kit more effectively.[1] She had a generally positive experience with the kit until she tried to remove the nail polish, in which she experienced a great level of difficulty. The amount of nail polish remover in the kit was found to be insufficient and store-bought alternatives failed to remove the polish.
Copyright claim[edit | edit source]
A few months after the review video was posted, Sassy Saints issued a copyright strike against Cindy's channel. When Cindy asked about this strike, the company said "Unauthorized use of our copyrighted content in your video is clearly against intellectual property laws".[2] They claimed that showing their products and brand name in a video is copyright infringement. Cindy responded saying she believes her video to fall under fair use since her video is criticism and review, which is protected under fair use. Sassy Saints responded saying the claim of fair use is "not valid" and that it is "not authorized" to use their goods in her video. They then threatened legal action against Cindy.
After discussing the incident online, Cindy issued a counter notification to YouTube and the video was restored to her channel.[4]
Response[edit | edit source]
People on the internet have described the copyright strike as "bullying" and a "scare tactic" and have said that the video falls under fair use, since the video was a review of the product.[2][5] Also, Louis Rossmann made a video about this incident, saying that it's absurd that companies think they can control products that people have bought.[6] This video drew a lot of attention to Cindy's video.
Since then, Sassy Saints have emailed Cindy to clarify what had happened.[7] They say that Cindy received the copyright strike because they hired a 3rd party to help them with brand protection. They also said that their messaging "does not align with how we want to engage with our community" and have said they will "make sure this never happens again to another creator in the future".
See also[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Lot of Love, Cindy (27 Sep 2024). "Sassy Saints Nail Kit - I Don't Know How To Feel". YouTube. Retrieved 21 Mar 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lot of Love, Cindy (2 Feb 2025). "Brand is Trying to SILENCE Me… Over a Nail Powder Review?!". YouTube. Retrieved 21 Mar 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Sassy Saints". Retrieved 21 Mar 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Lot of Love, Cindy (23 Feb 2025). "Update on Copyright Strike on My Product Review". YouTube. Retrieved 21 Mar 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ "Copyright Strike I reviewed their product?? (no freedom of speech?)". Reddit. Retrieved 21 Mar 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Rossmann, Louis (26 Feb 2025). "Sassy Saints threatens to sue fashion youtuber over review of a nail kit; do they own it or do you?". YouTube. Retrieved 21 Mar 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ Lot of Love, Cindy (28 Feb 2025). "THANK YOU + UPDATE". YouTube. Retrieved 21 Mar 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)