The complaint
Michelle Ong v. Mediaite, LLC, No. 1:26-cv-09858 (S.D.N.Y.), is a ten-page complaint filed November 10, 2026, ECF No. 1, with a jury demand. It pleads jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. §§ 1338(a) and 1331.
The parties
The complaint describes Ong as a California citizen based in Los Angeles County and a professional journalist and videographer who reports under the byline Michelle Lhooq and publishes footage of newsworthy events to her X account, @MichelleLhooq. It describes Mediaite, LLC as a Delaware limited liability company based in New York, New York, that owns and operates the website at mediaite.com, and it alleges, on information and belief, that Mediaite earns revenue from advertising on the website, including video advertisements that play before video content in its player, and from a paid subscription called Mediaite+.
The video
The complaint alleges that the video captures the moment on August 27, 2023, when rangers drove a pickup truck through a blockade that climate protesters had erected across the road leading to the Burning Man festival in Nevada, and the confrontation that followed. It alleges that Ong first published the video that day by posting it to her X account and that the video was registered on November 14, 2023, under Registration No. PA 2-446-141, within three months after first publication. The Copyright Office public record lists PA0002446141, "08.27.23_BurningMan," a motion picture registered November 14, 2023, with a first publication date of August 27, 2023, Michelle Ong as claimant, and Michelle Lhooq, a pseudonym of Michelle Ong, as author.
What it alleges
The complaint alleges that on August 29, 2023, without permission, Mediaite copied the video, uploaded it to its own video player, and displayed and performed it on the website in an article titled "WATCH: Park Rangers Plow Through Environmental Protestors Blocking Road to Burning Man." It alleges that Mediaite did not link to or embed Ong's post, superimposed its own "MEDIAITE" logo over the video, and showed the video in a player carrying a banner reading "Want to avoid video ads? Subscribe to MEDIAITE+," and it alleges, on information and belief, that Mediaite served video advertisements to viewers who played the video. It alleges that the only credit was a "hat tip" to Ong's X account and that Mediaite never contacted her to request a license.
Ong alleges that she first observed the use on November 15, 2023, that her counsel served letters on July 30, 2025, and August 29, 2025, and that Mediaite did not respond. The complaint also cites two earlier copyright suits against Mediaite in the same court, Nos. 1:23-cv-11015 and 1:24-cv-00006. Several allegations about Mediaite's internal copyright policies, its willfulness, its control and monitoring of the website, and its financial benefit are made on information and belief.
Claim and relief
The First Count pleads direct copyright infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 501, alleging that Mediaite reproduced, publicly displayed, and publicly performed the video in violation of 17 U.S.C. § 106(1), (4), and (5), and that the infringement was willful. Ong asks for a finding that Mediaite infringed her copyright interest in the video by copying, displaying, and performing it without a license or consent; actual damages and disgorgement of profits under 17 U.S.C. § 504(b) or, at her election, statutory damages for each infringement under 17 U.S.C. § 504(c), whichever is larger; an order under 17 U.S.C. § 502(a) enjoining Mediaite from any infringing use of any of her works; costs and reasonable attorney's fees under 17 U.S.C. § 505; pre-judgment interest; and other relief the court deems just and proper.