One of the top YouTubers covering TV, video and audio gear, Caleb Denison, has emerged from legal limbo after a copyright claim and lawsuit filed by his former employer, Digital Trends led to his virtual banishment from YouTube. This week, the tech publisher finally gave up on their attack on Denison after a judge struck down their initial copyright claim, making it clear that invalid and specious legal complaints would not be tolerated. The two parties have apparently reached a settlement to part ways (without any further legal actions), freeing Caleb to get back to what he does best: talking tech.
Caleb helped build the Digital Trends YouTube channel up to over 1.3 million subscribers over his 14-year tenure at the company. Denison’s no-nonsense, insightful and humorous reviews and editorial videos on TVs, soundbars and other A/V gear have resonated with consumers seeking advice on their own investments in A/V tech. While Caleb’s videos on the channel frequently saw over a million views, videos posted to the channel after Caleb’s departure have struggled to break 20,000 views. While the subscriber count remains high, the engagement on the channel has dropped precipitously in recent months as witnessed by comments and views on recent content.
In April of this year, Caleb resigned from Digital Trends. A week later, he launched his own YouTube channel CalebRated, a play on words (calibration is how you set up a TV or audio system). Within its first week, the channel had grown to over 35,000 subscribers, with just a couple of announcement videos published. And while Digital Trends posted a public message wishing him well on his new venture (a community post on YouTube which they have since deleted), behind the scenes they were filing copyright strikes on YouTube, claiming ownership of both the new channel and all of its content. They also filed a copyright infringement lawsuit against Denison in federal court, in order to substantiate their YouTube copyright complaint.
Fans rallied to Caleb’s defense, posting supportive messages on social media and even contributing to a GoFundMe campaign to help cover Caleb’s legal expenses. To date, the campaign has generated over $58,000 in donations from over 2,000 people. It’s not quite up to its $65K goal but it’s getting close. If you’re a fan and want to help take Caleb over the finish line, check out his campaign link below. Caleb tells us the campaign will be shut down as soon as it reaches its goal:
> Help Caleb Denison Save His YouTube Channel (GoFundMe)
In late July, federal judge in the district of Oregon Michael H. Simon dismissed the claim against Denison without prejudice, acknowledging that the copyright claim had no merit. This week, Caleb posted a settlement video on YouTube. In the video, Caleb says that he and Digital Trends are parting ways “amicably” with the possibility of working together again some day in the future (somehow, I doubt that). In any case, we expect to see more videos from Caleb on the channel as he gets back to business.
We spoke to Caleb after the announcement and he had this to say:
“As you know, part of a legal settlement is keeping details of the settlement confidential, and of course I’m going to respect that. What I will add to the public-facing statement I alone recorded and put on my YouTube channel is that I am extremely excited to get back to doing what I love to do. A belief I have long held was made abundantly clear over the last four months: I love this stuff. It’s more than just work to me. It’s part of who I am. I’m glad I get to be me again.”
The Bottom Line
They say you can’t keep a good man down. When Caleb Denison left Digital Trends to venture off on his own, he must have thought he had done his due diligence in severing his ties to his former employer professionally, amicably and legally. But that didn’t stop the company from launching a personal legal attack on Denison, which prevented him from making a living in the industry in which he had spent much of his adult life. Now, with a judge’s ruling in his favor, and the company agreeing to drop all complaints, Caleb can get back to business creating the informative and entertaining content we have come to expect from him over these past 14 years.
Check out Caleb’s new channel here: YouTube.com/@CalebRated
Related Reading:
- Tech Maven Caleb Denison Says Goodbye to Digital Trends, Hello CalebRated
- Caleb Denison’s New Channel CalebRated Banned From YouTube by Former Employer Digital Trends
- Best TVs of 2025? Caleb Denison Shares His Thoughts (YouTube)
