Amber May Lowe sues Bissell Homecare over a TikTok ad using her Oh, I wasn't sad sound recording

The complaint

Lowe v. Bissell Homecare, Inc., No. 2:26-cv-12200 (C.D. Cal.), was filed October 19, 2026. The complaint is Document 1, runs 17 pages, and demands a jury. The plaintiff is Amber May Lowe, an individual and citizen of the United Kingdom domiciled in Sutton Coldfield, West Midlands, United Kingdom, whom the complaint describes as a content creator who publishes on TikTok as @eats.travels. The defendant is Bissell Homecare, Inc., a Michigan corporation headquartered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, which the complaint describes as a manufacturer and seller of vacuum cleaners and floor care products that operates the TikTok handle @bissellclean. The complaint is signed by Heather L. Blaise of Valkyrie Law Group, P.C. It pleads jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. 1331 and 1338 and venue under 28 U.S.C. 1391(b) to (d) and 1400(a). (Compl. paras. 2 to 10.)

The sound recording

The complaint alleges that Oh, I wasn't sad is an original sound recording Lowe created and first published on July 14, 2024 in a video on her TikTok profile, and that it was registered with the Copyright Office on December 19, 2024 as Registration No. SR 1-020-228. It alleges that Lowe is the sole author and owner, that the recording does not appear in TikTok's Commercial Music Library and so is not available on TikTok for commercial use, and that it went viral and was used in over 98,600 user-created posts. (Compl. paras. 37 to 42.)

The Copyright Office record for SR 1-020-228 lists Lowe as author and claimant, a first publication date of July 14, 2024, and an effective date of registration of December 19, 2024. That effective date is about five months after the listed first publication date and seven days before the December 26, 2024 post the complaint alleges.

What it alleges

The complaint alleges that on December 26, 2024 Bissell posted a video advertisement on its @bissellclean TikTok page with the recording as its audio, that the video received at least 162,500 views, that it was posted after the registration, and that Bissell obtained no license or authority from Lowe. It alleges that Lowe's representative notified Bissell in writing on or about February 13, 2026, sent the video's URL, a copy of the video, and the registration on May 18, 2026, and that Bissell kept the video up until on or about May 27, 2026, when it removed it. It also alleges that Bissell is a Commercial User under TikTok's Music Terms of Service and was on notice that it could not use another user's Original Sound without permission from all necessary rights holders. (Compl. paras. 36, 43 to 55.)

The single count, for direct copyright infringement, alleges that Bissell reproduced the recording, prepared derivative works based on it, distributed copies, and publicly performed it by digital audio transmission, in violation of 17 U.S.C. 106(1), (2), (3), and (6), and that the infringement was willful. Alleging that the recording was registered before the infringement commenced, it claims the right to elect statutory damages and recover attorney's fees under 17 U.S.C. 412, 504(c), and 505, and it seeks enhanced statutory damages for willfulness. (Compl. paras. 56 to 67.)

Relief sought

The prayer asks for a declaration that Bissell's December 26, 2024 TikTok post willfully infringed the recording, a permanent injunction under 17 U.S.C. 502, impoundment of infringing copies and related records under 17 U.S.C. 503, statutory damages under 17 U.S.C. 504(c) or, at Lowe's election, actual damages and profits under 504(b), an accounting of profits, enhanced statutory damages under 504(c)(2), attorney's fees and costs under 17 U.S.C. 505, and pre-judgment and post-judgment interest. (Compl. pp. 15 to 16.)