The Digital Millennium Copyright Act provides a “safe harbor” for content publishers so long as they abide by the law. In this case, the DMCA calls for a content owner to file a “DMCA Takedown Notice” to the publisher, who is then supposed to investigate, then take down the offending content until or unless the poster says that the content is actually theirs, or that they have the right to use it.
Having been one of those whose content has been removed from YouTube when music was clearly incidental and/or fair use, DESPITE my letting them know this was the case, I can see what the linked story is complaining of. The fact that Protect-IP and SOPA may actually criminalize the behavior in some cases, and at the very least damn the content to Internet purgatory, would provide even more incentive for unscrupulous and/or jealous individuals to make false claims in order to get rival content removed.
Cat videos are all the rage on YouTube, so much so that a Russian company hijacked a recent cute clip of a feline named “Pepper” in order to steal the ad revenue.
Kidnapping YouTube videos, which anecdotal evidence suggests has happened thousands of times, is as easy as it gets.
A Russian company called Netcom Partners and others are taking advantage of YouTube’s copyright-control filters, known as Content ID. It’s not clear how much money the scammers are stealing from YouTube videomakers. But if you judge by the volume of complaints about the hijacking on Google’s forums, it’s likely Netcom and others are doing pretty well making money for nothing.
“YouTube has developed some system that allows these companies to hijack videos for revenue for content that is not thei
[From Rogues Falsely Claim Copyright on YouTube Videos to Hijack Ad Dollars | Threat Level | Wired.com]
