17 February 2010

UPDATED nfl properties llc terminates wst... youtube channel

UPDATE: youtube reinstates wesawthat... youtube channel!

click picture to enlargewww.youtube.com/user/wesawthat

wow. of all the crazy videos we had on our channel, we never would have imagined that it would have been the one where the vince lombardi trophy was finally awarded to the new orleans saints that got our youtube account terminated.

we've contacted youtube per their copyright clams dispute information to try and get the contact information at nfl properties llc to see if we can contact someone there directly and get them to reconsider and release their copyright claim. if so our account can be restored.

we've filed lots of counter-notifications. youtube's content identification tool isnt that reliable. for instance sometimes fox news or one of the others would try to claim a c-span public domain video of ours to put ads on the watch page or in the video. obviously a mistake. so we would always file counter-notifications to get their copyright claim lifted.

there was another instance too where nbc filed a copyright claim against our short clip of president obama making his special olympics remark on the tonight show with jay leno. nbc relented and that video was eventually restored.

it looks like they have changed the counter-notification procedure since our last one. this one says
After we receive your counter-notification, we will forward it to the party who submitted the original claim of copyright infringement. Please note that when we forward the counter-notification, it includes your personal information. By submitting a counter-notification, you consent to having your information revealed in this way. We will not forward the counter-notification to any party other than the original claimant.

After we send out the counter-notification, the claimant must then notify us within 10 business days that he or she has filed an action seeking a court order to restrain you from engaging in infringing activity relating to the material on YouTube.

If we receive such notification we will be unable to restore the material. If we do not receive such notification, we may reinstate the material.
so naturally we dont want to file a counter-notification until we can find out from someone in legal at nfl properties llc that they will let it go through. maybe they can and will reverse it on their end.

so we shall see what happens.

meanwhile...massachusetts institute of technology's research project, youtomb* has more information about videos that nfl properties llc has issued takedown notices for.

*YouTomb is a research project of MIT Free Culture. The purpose of the project is to investigate what kind of videos are subject to takedown notices due to allegations of copyright infringement with particular emphasis on those for which the takedown may be mistaken. Although our initial focus is on videos hosted by YouTube, we are interested in other video collections as well.

UPDATE 18 february 2010 paul jackson, esq. the nfl's copyright agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement calls and explains the nfl's trademark protection policy.

the bottom line is that the nfl's position is ... they own everything. exclusively. and will aggressively protect their property.

the nfl will not negotiate a fair use copyright claim or negotiate any alternative at all. nor will they reverse any infringement claim notices they've executed.

so as far as youtube and the nfl is concerned expect any upload there containing any video of any length from any nfl game to have a copyright claim executed on it.
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audio of paul jackson returning a call from someone in louisiana who had called for more information about a video clip

Presentation of the Vince Lombardi Trophy to the New Orleans Saints
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8ZL-YATxt0

he had added to youtube that was taken down on orders of the nfl.(nfl properties llc)

his youtube account was also terminated so all of his other videos was deleted.

in a last ditch effort he contacted the national football league in an attempt to work something out and hopefully get the copyright infringement claim reversed and his youtube account restored.

this is what happened...
link to audio page

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or click here to download our copy eight pages [153 kb]
The National Football League’s mission is to produce a premier entertainment product that appeals to the broadest possible audience.

As part of that effort, we encourage fans and potential fans to identify with the NFL and their favorite team in a variety of ways.

Those efforts include ensuring that fans of all teams have access to a broad variety of high quality, appealing consumer products that bear NFL and team marks and logos.

Those promotional efforts have been successful: We are America’s most popular sport, with over 180 million fans.

~ gary gertzog, senior vice president and general counsel to the nfl in sworn testimony before the house judiciary committee, subcommittee on courts and competition policy 20 january 2010

EXTERNAL LINK

Posted by wst... at 22:53