The DMCA rears its head

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I just received an e-mail from YouTube that said the following:

“This is to notify you that we have removed or disabled access to the following material as a result of a third-party notification by VAN MORRISON / EXILE PRODUCTIONS / EXILE PUBLISHING claiming that this material is infringing:

Hamburg Street Performers: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-Yj9c66jZE“

Since the video is no longer viewable (“This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by VAN MORRISON / EXILE PRODUCTIONS / EXILE PUBLISHING”) I’ll have to summarize its content for you. While I was in Hamburg, Germany I happened across a couple of street performers (one on guitar/drums, the other on upright bass) that were playing various songs. I took a short video of them with my digital camera and uploaded it to YouTube, where it has sat for almost a year. The song they were singing was a Van Morrison tune — regardless, I find this very surprising.

Not being able to take video on a public street without someone claiming copyright is a little too Big Brother for my taste.

5 thoughts on “The DMCA rears its head”

  1. Wow that is kind of Orwellian. Was there anything in the title you gave the video or in its description that would lead Big Brother to find it out or did “he” just have to go searching and happen to hear the Van Morrison song being played?

  2. @Evan: I believe I wrote they were singing a Van Morrison song in the description, but didn’t mention the title of the song. It was “Wild Night” by the way.

    These copyright claims are getting out of hand. Perhaps I haven’t thought this through, but I can’t think of how that video was damaging to Van Morrison or the record label in any way. If anything you would think it would generate interest in the music.

  3. Right, not clear here either how it was harmful. Sure does sound a lot like fair use. Not like anyone’s going to rip the audio and listen to that rather than the original recording, and the purpose of the video was to inform about the street performers, not to convey the song.

  4. That sucks! Wow there are no words to describe how ridiculous I feel that this is.

    p.s. I LOVE the redesign.