A mom videotapes her child dancing around the house. Prince's 'Let's Go Crazy' is playing in the background. Mom posts the 30 second video on YouTube. Universal Muisc issues YouTube a take-down notice for copyright violation. I'm dead serious.Here's the video. Here's the EFF suing Universal for harrassing the rights of citizens.
How much more of this shit are you going to put up with America?
6 comments:
I jumped all over this at first but you have to look at it a different way. Yes, the mom who made the video was definitely fair use. But as soon as YouTube distributed it stopped being fair use. You see, YouTube makes butt loads of cash off that site and that video and song is part of what brings people in. It's no longer fair use.
I never looked at it that way. Technically, you're right.
But the reason copyright exists is to protect the original work from 'abuse' (for lack of a better word at the moment). The owners of the Prince song don't want illegal copies of the song available for anyone to use, nor do they want anyone making money using the song.
But in this case, the money YouTube is making is from 'general admission' (a variety of visitors viewing a variety of material). They're not making money on the backs of that one video alone. And the video is not necessarily popular on the back of the Prince song. It could have been the bird song playing in the background and the video would probably still be a hit.
Also, it is my understanding that the song's presence in the video is incidental. In other words, the mother didn't appear to set it up with Prince music, apparently the kid was just caught dancing to music playing during the show at the Super Bowl. I could be very wrong - it's all heresy. So what we have is an innocent family half moment being classified as an infringement on copyright. I'm sorry, I don't buy it.
What if a cop hid around your house and waited for your kids to cross the street to go to the park in the middle of the block. Yes, it's technically jay-walking, but come on!
Damn, lost comment, hopefully this doesn't post twice
First, if my kids crossed in the middle of the block, I'd call the cops myself.
If it is incidental then that is a bit grey. But if you make a powerpoint with an Air supply song for my kid's wedding, fair use. If I make a powerpoint with a lover boy song to pitch a new client at work, not fair use.
If this woman had posted it on her own site that was not making money, then that would have been fine.
I distribute under a CC license, if this video had featured my stuff without following the CC rules, I would be ticked.
If you made a PowerPoint with a Loverboy song to pitch a new client at work.......... you'd starve.
Sorry, am I thinking out loud again?
Inner voice! Inner voice!
True, you would have bigger problems than copyright infringement.
Um there was recognizable music playing on this thing? Kid was cute, what EVER the music was, it was annoying and extremely UNcommercial. I wouldn't pay for it.
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