SHARK Attacks; Another DMCA Claim Gets Bit
The so-called “notice-and-takedown” procedure in the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (the “DMCA”) – previously referenced here and here – provides copyright holders with the means to remove allegedly infringing material from websites. When users post such material, the copyright holder provides notice to the website operator, and the operator is charged with the taking it down. Increasingly, however, the users posting these materials are fighting back when takedown notices are used illegally.
In a recent case, the animal rights group Showing Animals Respect & Kindness (aka SHARK) shot video footage of a rodeo which depicted, according to SHARK, animal abuse. SHARK then posted the footage to its YouTube channel accompanied with provocative commentary and as part of a fund raising drive. The Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association, the organizer of the rodeo, sent YouTube a DMCA takedown notice claiming that the clips infringed their copyright because SHARK was not authorized to shoot the event. There is one problem with that claim: live sporting events, such as rodeos, are not copyrightable. SHARK complained, YouTube put its channel back up, and then SHARK sued the Rodeo Association for abuse of the DMCA. In the end, the Association agreed to pay SHARK $25,000 for the wrongful takedown notice.
–Matt
