Cute and cuddly is not always the way to go. While a giggling baby or a cuddly puppy can brighten your day, there are underlying dangers that could result in tragedy. Now I know what you’re thinking. I’m not saying that the dog turns rabid and, I’m not even going to say the rest, but that someone could respond to the cute and cuddly video the wrong way. From there it’s all downhill. And that’s exactly what happened to Shannon Carter.
What began as an innocent play date between a friendly little pup and an adorable baby in a bubble bath has turned sour. The baby’s mother, Ashley Chandler, recently filed a lawsuit accusing Carter, who posted the video on her YouTube account, of stealing the video. The clip has garnered more than 70 million views, awarding Carter with money via YouTube ads and licensing deals.
Chandler sued Carter for copyright infringement in the Eastern District of California. She states that Carter exploited the family film to make money from the advertising revenue and claiming that she was the infant’s aunt, Courthouse News reports.
"Candler is the mother of a young son," her complaint states. "In or around December 2010, Candler created a video entitled 'Bath Time Fun.' The video displays her toddler son in the bathtub, teasing the family dachshund with a bath toy. The dachshund repeatedly jumps for the toy and misses, causing Candler's son to laugh adorably. The video lasts approximately a minute. Candler owns U.S. Copyright Registration No. PA1829720 for the video.”
"On January 12, 2011, Candler posted the video to YouTube so that friends and family could view it.”
"The very next day, on January 13, 2011, defendant copied the video to her publicly available YouTube channel, sweetfacesjc. In a caption to the video, defendant claimed that the video showed 'my nephew cracking up while teasing the dog with his toy. Original content taken by me with my Droid phone. I own all content copyrights to this video.' These statements were false."
It’s up to the federal judges in California to determine who should reap the benefits of the adorable video, but in the end, it’s all about the cutest duo of all time bringing a smile to your face.