Businessing LLC v Runway AI Inc

Businessing LLC, doing business as Ali Spagnola, v. Runway AI, Inc. is a class action lawsuit filed on February 27, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California (Los Angeles), alleging violations of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) for unauthorized scraping of YouTube videos to train Runway AI's generative models.<ref>Mishcon de Reya - AI IP Policy Tracker</ref><ref>Businessing LLC v. Runway AI, Inc. - Complaint</ref> The case is part of a broader wave of litigation targeting AI companies' harvesting of publicly available content without authorization.

Parties

Plaintiff

Businessing LLC, a California-based media company operating the YouTube channel @alispagnola, owned by Ali Spagnola. The channel has over 2.59 million subscribers and has generated millions of views. Spagnola creates comedy, music, and fitness content.<ref>Law360: Another YouTuber Sues Runway AI</ref>

Defendant

Runway AI, Inc., a New York-based AI company developing generative video models including Gen-3 Alpha. Runway is reportedly valued in the multi-billion-dollar range.<ref>Mishcon de Reya - AI IP Policy Tracker</ref>

Allegations

The complaint alleges Runway AI violated 17 U.S.C. Section 1201(a)(1) by circumventing YouTube's technological protection measures (TPMs) to scrape and download over 1,200 of Ali Spagnola's copyrighted videos.<ref>Businessing LLC v. Runway AI, Inc. - Complaint</ref>

Circumvention of Technological Protection Measures

YouTube employs several technical measures to prevent bulk downloading, including:

Rate limiting on video downloads
IP blocking for suspicious activity
Terms of Service prohibiting scraping and automated downloads

The complaint alleges Runway deliberately bypassed these measures using:

Rotating IP addresses to evade detection
Virtual machines and cloud infrastructure
Automated tools to mass-download millions of copyrighted videos<ref>Businessing LLC v. Runway AI, Inc. - Complaint</ref>

Training Dataset Use

The scraped videos--including Spagnola's content--allegedly served as training data for Runway's Gen-3 and other generative video models capable of producing text-to-video and image-to-video outputs. The lawsuit claims this provided Runway with commercial gain while violating creators' exclusive rights.<ref>Law360: Another YouTuber Sues Runway AI</ref>

Willful Conduct

The complaint emphasizes that Runway, as a sophisticated AI company, made conscious choices to circumvent YouTube's TPMs rather than pursue lawful licensing, depriving creators of control over their works and the ability to monetize their content.<ref>Businessing LLC v. Runway AI, Inc. - Complaint</ref>

Legal Claims

DMCA Section 1201(a)(1) Anti-Circumvention -- Unlawful circumvention of technological measures controlling access to copyrighted works<ref>Businessing LLC v. Runway AI, Inc. - Complaint</ref>

Class Action

The case is filed as a class action on behalf of "independent YouTube content creators whose videos were scraped by Runway AI." The class is defined by common questions including:

Runway's circumvention methods
Willfulness of the conduct
Class-wide injury to creators whose content was taken without authorization<ref>Businessing LLC v. Runway AI, Inc. - Complaint</ref>

Relief Sought

Plaintiff seeks:

Statutory damages under the DMCA
Injunctive relief
Restitution of profits
Attorneys' fees and costs
Other appropriate remedies<ref>Mishcon de Reya - AI IP Policy Tracker</ref>

Related Cases

Businessing LLC's suit is part of a cluster of similar DMCA cases targeting Runway AI:

Ace Cam, Inc. v. Runway AI, Inc. -- Filed February 18, 2026, in the Southern District of New York (1:26-cv-01698). This case has been consolidated with Businessing LLC's action.<ref>Law360: Another YouTuber Sues Runway AI</ref><ref name="benesch">Benesch AI Reporter, April 2026</ref>
David Vance Gardner v. Runway AI, Inc. -- Filed February 23, 2026; consolidated with Businessing LLC and Ace Cam actions<ref>Law360: Another YouTuber Sues Runway AI</ref><ref name="benesch" />

Case Consolidation

The Ace Cam, Inc. (d/b/a Random Golf Club) action, filed February 18, 2026, in the Southern District of New York, has been consolidated with the Businessing LLC (d/b/a Ali Spagnola) action.<ref name="benesch" /> Both cases allege that Runway AI circumvented YouTube's technological protection measures to scrape video content for training its generative models, and the consolidation enables coordinated pretrial proceedings.

Procedural History


Date	Event
February 18, 2026	Ace Cam, Inc. v. Runway AI filed in S.D.N.Y.
February 23, 2026	Gardner v. Runway AI filed
February 27, 2026	Businessing LLC v. Runway AI filed in C.D. Cal.

Significance

The case highlights the growing tension between:

AI companies' use of publicly available web content for training
Creators' rights under the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions
Platform terms of service as a basis for liability

The DMCA claim differs from traditional copyright infringement claims by focusing on the *method* of acquisition (circumventing TPMs) rather than the *use* of content post-acquisition. This legal theory avoids some fair use defenses while potentially exposing AI companies to statutory damages.<ref>Copyright Alliance - Copyright Stories February 2026</ref>

Case Information

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References


Item	Details
Full Caption	Businessing LLC v. Runway AI, Inc.
Court	U.S. District Court for the Central District of California
Filed	February 27, 2026
Cause of Action	DMCA Section 1201(a)(1) anti-circumvention
Class Action	Yes