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On February 10th, Machinima and Collective Digital Studio--two companies that run multi-channel networks on YouTube--shared the details of their respective lawsuits against Freeplay Music, a music licensing service they claim acted as a "copyright troll" on YouTube. Now, Freeplay has launched some suits of its own. It has filed complaints against four MCNs: BroadbandTV, AwesomenessTV, Big Frame, and Maker Studios.

Freeplay Music, founded by composer Scott Schreer, controls a library of 50,000 tracks, which it licenses out to various programs and companies. As The Hollywood Reporter (which first reported Freeplay's suit) explains, many YouTube videomakers accessed Freeplay's library through Apple's DVD Studio Pro and Final Cut Pro editing software.

While this may make it seem as if the tracks are free to use, they still require additional licenses, and that's where Freeplay's complaint arises. The company alleges that creators within the four networks it is suing have racked up "rampant infringements,...

On Tuesday, Disney's Maker Studios, DreamWorks Animation's Awesomeness, Big Frame and BroadbandTV Corp. were all slammed with lawsuits that aim to rip the lid off of unlicensed music on YouTube. The copyright infringement claims against these multi-channel networks (MCNs) comes in New York federal court from Freeplay Music, which counts a music library of 50,000 works by various composers. Since launching in 2001 under the stewardship of Scott Schreer, whose own credits include doing themes for NFL on Fox, The O'Reilly Factor and The Cosby Show, Freeplay has positioned itself as a provider of tunes for television and

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