On Tuesday, May 24 , popular YouTubers Ethan and Hila Klein of h3h3Productions announced, via video, that they are being sued for copyright infringement by fellow creator Matt Hosseinzadeh. Hosseinzadeh claims that clips of his content were used unfairly on a reaction video published on the Klein’s channel, and thus, are not covered under YouTube’s “fair use” policy. Standing their ground, the Kleins, in response, have ardently defended the video in question, stating that the clips and comments made reacting to them are, in fact, covered under the website’s fair use rules and that the allegations are completely unfounded.

For many familiar with the video publishing site, this lawsuit seems harmless; most viewers and creators can easily distinguish between fair and unfair use. “The scary part”, Ethan Klein admits, is not knowing how a jury will view the situation, as they might not be acquainted with common YouTube practices and etiquette, stating, “If they rule against us, we stand to lose…everything we’ve built our career on”. Despite the risk, the couple has decided to reject previous settlement offers made by Hosseinzadeh deemed inappropriate and extortive, and accept the lawsuit, a process they believe will take around two years and cost them at least $100,000.

In response to the Kleins choice to not start a crowd-funding campaign to help pay their legal fees, another well known YouTuber, Philip DeFranco of The DeFranco Show, took up the couple’s cause, stating “This is a much bigger deal than just h3h3Productions…this is a huge case on YouTubers in general.” Since creating a GoFundMe for the Kleins, Philip DeFranco and thousands of others have raised over $150,000 in less than a week. Rallying behind DeFranco’s initial call to action, other top channels in the YouTube community, such as PewDiePie and Fine Brothers Entertainment, have begun brandishing their support for the Kleins and endorsing the right to fair use.

Calling YouTube’s current copyright system “broken”, Ethan and Hila hope to use this unfortunate situation as a way to potentially help other YouTube creators in the future. The right to fair use is what allows YouTubers their unique voices and perspectives but YouTube itself, in an effort to avoid its own legal issues, doesn’t back creators when situations like this arise. To protect this right and prevent a dangerous precedent from being set, the Kleins have opted to put aside the extra donations from GoFundMe into a Fair Use Protection Account. “Any [channel] who is being bullied, big or small,” the Kleins say, will be able to use these funds to fight against restriction of fair use. Amidst a growing trend of creators being silenced due to these issues, h3h3Production’s lawsuit may be the push needed to finally make YouTube stand behind its community and protect fair use.