Viacom Demands YouTube Remove Videos 225
AlHunt writes "According to the folks at PCWorld Viacom has publicly scolded YouTube for continuing to host throngs of Viacom videos without permission. They are demanding that over 100,000 of its clips be removed from the site. This includes content from Comedy Central (no more Daily Show), MTV, Nick at Nite, Nickelodeon, Paramount Pictures, and VH1. YouTube has acknowledged receiving a DMCA request from Viacom, and the article notes what a dire precedent this could be if Google can't reach an agreement with Viacom and its fellow IP holders."
Who didn't see this coming (Score:3, Informative)
You don't. (Score:5, Insightful)
Reaching agreement with the big media companies might make reduce YouTube's workload and reduce news stories such as this one. But it's absolutely not necessary.
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Youtube was simply banning these videos before, but I think they realized they weren't going to keep their audience long by doing that. It's probably in their best interest to just make a deal with viacom.
Re:You don't. (Score:4, Insightful)
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Comment removed (Score:4, Insightful)
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I recall Napster tried that defence. Didn't work very well.
Re:You don't. (Score:4, Insightful)
The difference is, I think, that Napster's main purpose was to distribute copyrighted music; non-copyrighted stuff was the exception not the rule. YouTube's main purpose is to distribute bad karaoke videos and other things in the same vein, but happens to have people posting copyrighted material.
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Bad for Viacom (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:Bad for Viacom (Score:4, Interesting)
I mean, it's one thing to upload a whole program to these sites, those videos should, and undoubtedly will be taken down as they are uploaded... A smart company, however, would KILL for advertising like this. It's free, it takes no effort beyond the initial investment whatsoever, and it's highly effective because it targets a niche market which is proven to enjoy your product. If anything, Viacom's stockholders aught to be lynching the management for not figuring out a way to make this phenomenon *more effective*, to establish more mindshare, to draw in more viewers, to up the ratings, and to make more money in the end!
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Viacom does not object to their content being on YouTube as such. What they don't agree with is that YouTube gets ad revenue from their videos, and Viacom doesn't get a cut. YouTube (Google) has already negotiated deals to pay a portion of ad revenue to other content providers, such as CBS. Viacom, however, feels (probably rightly so) that their content provides far more traffic to YouTube than the other providers that have deals, and so they want a sweeter deal than the others got. Until they have that de
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Re:Bad for Viacom (Score:5, Informative)
I thought so, too (Score:4, Interesting)
YouTube Removes Comedy Central Clips Due to DMCA [slashdot.org]
YouTube Restores Comedy Central Clips [slashdot.org]
Apparently it wasn't as clear cut as I'd recalled, though, and Viacom never actually gave YouTube permission to put the clips back up, they were simply interested in reaching an agreement ($$$). Apparently the recent threats came about because the talks fell through.
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Maybe. Maybe not. Hard to say. If I've got no way to find him, then I might not. Information can be free because we share it. I mean, something like Colbert or Stewart is only funny for a little while - I'm not going to get a laugh off of Bush jokes in 2015. In fact, most of the comedy there has a half-life of weeks if not days. Therefore, making my discovery of the material faster is pret
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Keith might be a bit long winded, but it made me want to check the show out a little more in depth.
Colbert I have never felt a draw for, but after watching a couple clips on YouTube I'm a little more inclined to add it to my pvr line up.
So yeah, it kinda works and occasionally I find some good amateur comedy bits I like.
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That's odd logic. I've never heard of the guy, until I read the name about 3 or 4 posts ago. If he hadn't been on youtube
he wouldn't have been mentioned on this article so I would have continued never to have heard of him.
The idea that I would have 'discovered' him (if he's any good) inevitably simply doesn't make any sense. I'll probably go my whole life never having heard of many people.. some of whom I'd pro
Since i know people are thinking it... (Score:5, Insightful)
because someone will re-upload those clips whether Viacom likes it or not.
OTOH, I understand why GooTube doesn't want to piss off the big players in the media industry & will eventually compromise in one way or another.
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Of course that sucks and the alternative sites suck even more.
But if YouTube shut down that would also be the end of a lot of cool non-copyrighted stuff... there's lots of things I think to find, so I search on YouTube and lo and behold, there it is.
I think the major corporations should just shut up, for the good of the people.
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But if YouTube shut down that would also be the end of a lot of cool non-copyrighted stuff... there's lots of things I think to find, so I search on YouTube and lo and behold, there it is.
That's a good point. YouTube has done a lot of good, particularly for democratizing the process of content publishing (like for movies, music videos, etc). They even have a special account for amateur filmmakers that allows you to upload much longer clips. There was a story on one of the conventional news channels abou
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Do you also think the little guy should just "shut up for the good" when his content is illegally uploaded?
Viacom has rights (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Viacom has rights (Score:5, Interesting)
This is one reason that negotiating a deal would be beneficial to both parties. There are many more users willing to upload content than Viacom employees working to search it out, or Youtube employees capable of removing it. The money lost in fighting the infringement is probably significant.
That said, as long as it continues to be (financially) worth it, Youtube will continue to host videos and will simply have to deal with the takedown notices. And Viacom (and other copyright holders) will have to continue to monitor these sites for infringing content.
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I agree completely. While Viacom has the right to ask for the materi
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Blasphemy! Any media company that sues to protect its IP must be stopped!
Because if we get rid of viacom, then we wont get sued for stealing their stuff!
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Because if we get rid of viacom, then we wont get sued for stealing their stuff!
And somehow, we'll convince ourselves that it was in viacom's best interest, because we saw the clips and then watched the shows on TV... even if that's B
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That depends... if I happened to release a music video then by all means I'd want that sucker on youtube. If I happened to have an interest in a television program or a movie and someone wants to take a 3min blip-vert and post it on youtube, I'd be pleased as punch. The only reason I saw the new Pink Panther movie was because I saw the "english lesson" [youtube.com] on youtube.
The big theme in this thread is "free advertising". It'
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That depends... if I happened to release a music video then by all means I'd want that sucker on youtube."
We're mostly on the same page but I think you and others are missing a crucial point I'm trying to make..."if you could OTHERWISE get paid for it". Yeah, free publicity is GREAT!!! But, we're talking about Viacom. They have plenty of publicity and a big following already. If my small, minor, mostly unnoticed conte
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I'm talking about their content; entire shows, movies, etc. being out there for free. No advertising revenue! "Hey, we were number one on YouTube! Yeah, well your commercials were cut out of the show/movie...but, we were number one!" There might be a slight market because of product placement in the content but that won't cut it with the comp
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And i'm talking about blip-verts, short 3min segments, like the "Colbert Report" from the daily show. I'm sure there are whole shows available on youtube, not that i've seen any. I have seen short segments which from time to time resulted me taking the time to watch a show
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"Such viewpoints undermine the value of information creation and distribution. Most of the time when I speak it's because I think I have at least some bit of insight that might be valuable to contribute to others. Don't you think there is a sacrifice of credibility when the motive for content creation is no longer dialog or social interaction, but is rather profit? Two questions we should answer: (1) how did our society come to expect people to pay them for information?, and (2) what i
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Nobody is going to spend a lot of time, effort, and money producing entertainment programs they don't make any money on.
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As a film festival organiser I can happily state that you are totally wrong.
We have around 60 hours a year of video submitted to us per year (average film length 5mins) for our regional short film section. We also have over 2000 titles in our archive. Almost all have 0 commercial potential, despite their quality, though a few have made it to tv.
People are out there making good free st
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Dear Viacom (Score:5, Insightful)
Sincerely,
YouTube
Re:Dear Viacom (Score:5, Insightful)
Our business model is to provide content which is trivially easy for people to duplicate and distribute, but to sue anyone who actually does that. You are next on our hit list.
Plan A was to take control of all the hardware in the world away from its rightful owners, but that didn't work out so well. This has left us with no alternative but to sue you and everyone else.
Sincerely,
Viacom
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Have at it. We'll be right by your side when you (WILL!) need us.
Gleefully awaiting our retainer,
The Lawyers
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Actually, their business model is basically the same as youtube - make money via advertisements while distributing content (and both mediums are trivially easy to duplicate to boot). The only difference here is that Viacom made the content. Should they be pissed? Sure, it's their right since it's their content.
Also, did you miss t
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It is unbecoming to whine because an access to 'free' illegal material is made to dry up.
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Parent: The alternative being DRM. Personally, I'd prefer for normal consumers to have their fair use rights, and for copyright violators to be sued, than to give no rights to anybody.
Using DRM does not replace the need to take legal action against those infringing copyright; inevitably, copy protection *will* be removed by someone, by some mean
Viacom... (Score:2)
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huh? (Score:2)
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Rutube? (Score:2, Funny)
Google vs. Viacom... (Score:2, Funny)
Who needs YouTube to get The Daily Show (Score:2, Insightful)
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Google usually publishes DMCA complaints (Score:2, Interesting)
No more lazy man's BitTorrent (Score:5, Interesting)
This just means that you have to find and download a high quality version of the show that you want to watch. You can still get it for free, but you have to work a very little for it. It will only stop piracy committed by the very lazy or very stupid.
This move helps keep YouTube pure. Only people who take a picture of themselves everyday for years will be permitted to post content. Until the RIAA/MPAA copyrights their faces. You thought that we would only get mandatory full body coverings with a totalitarian Islamic government. Wait until you have to wear a burqa to avoid copyright violations.
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To be fair, videos of treadmill-dancing, mock solo light saber fights and soda fountain videos will also be allowed so long as the music is licenced for redistribution like that. Those people can use podsafe or creative commons music for that end anyways.
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I think many of them are doing that just now. A month ago, I've heard of an open source video site system that does much of what YouTube does. I'm sure many people are using such software to their own copyright infringing desires.
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Actually, The Daily Show and other Comedy Central offerings are quite good.
The takedown is already happening... (Score:4, Informative)
Viacom has been known for its actions in the past. For example: yanking Ren & Stimpy from its creators because Viacom wanted more control. This is par for the course with these folks.
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The creators sold it, it wasn't stolen.
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Agreed, but we've hit a bit of a sticking point on that...
If you put a million monkeys at typewriters, sure, you'll eventually get the complete works of Shakespeare. But that doesn't mean you get it for free - The "work" just goes from "writing", to "finding".
YouTube has a lot of good, noncommercial c
Viacom is being stupid (Score:2, Insightful)
The Essence of YouTube (Score:2)
Is unmanaged user uploads.
Did anyone not see a potential problem with this?
The ugly truth (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:The ugly truth (Score:4, Funny)
So true. We already have a stupid President, don't want a dangerous one now, do we? Oh wait...
Re:The ugly truth - fair use (Score:2)
There is no such thing as IP OWNERSHIP.
I hope Google fights this, but I am sure they will just settle with the whiners.
Cheers
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Ah, the lament of the "I want it free" crowd.
"Fair use allows for clips, etc. Viacom could bitch if the entire show was uploaded, but copyright is not ownership, it is just exclusive right to publish for a limited time ( well, sorry Mickey ) with the ability of others to use excerpts, and make parodies."
Well, lookie look, you just shot YouTube in the ass. YouTube ignores the content creater's exclusive right to publish. Those excerpts are entire segments,
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1) No. 2) It's a negotiating tactic. (Score:3, Insightful)
You know, that simply doesn't reflect how the economy works. If I put up a cinema, there's no reason, moral, legal or otherwise, why you shouldn't open up a restaurant next door and make a profit from the customers I draw. True, you have no positive right to do so, but there's no restriction on such activity either. Do you want to live in a world in which companies and individuals can control all positive externalit
Slavery and spirit (Score:2)
I'm not sure what argument you refer to, for my remark was a simple response to the claim of a 12,000 year precedent for a modern phenomenon. If I were to make an argument here, it would be ab
the sad part is (Score:2)
I think they know this quite well. (Score:3)
Put another way, YouTube has far more to lose here than Viacom does.
So Viacom is in fact quite smart to push hard for some sort of revenue stream from YouTube for their content.
The Internet is the problem (Score:4, Insightful)
There may be consequences for youtube but perhaps the proverbial cat is out of the figurative bag. The real problem here is that the Internet is such an effective and efficient distribution system. I find myself watching more and more news content on youtube simply because it's there when I want it. I don't have to read a program guide or program a TV. I don't even have to own a TV.
If what happened after Napster [wikipedia.org] (as a file-sharing service) was shut-down is any indication, the forces of supply and demand combined with the ubiquity and amorphous characteristics of the Internet are unstoppable, even if youtube were shut down tomorrow, you could expect to see the Daily Show popping up more prevalently on P2P, BitTorrent, or some obscure Russian site.
And if the failure of all those DMCA P2P lawsuits to stop file-sharing from reaching an all-time high is any indication of the world in which we live, people are going to get the content one way or another, no matter what the copyright holders or the law says. All moral judgments aside, that just a fact based in reality.
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No, you find yourself watching more and more news content on youtube simply because you have no life.
Legal videos were erroniously taken down as well (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Legal videos were erroniously taken down as wel (Score:2)
Odd, what if the subscriber believes that it was not a mistake or misidentification but rather done on purpose to interfere with his business or rights?
Why not just plain wrong?
all the best,
drew
Thank goodness NBC has good sense (Score:4, Informative)
http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=NBC [youtube.com]
Viacom should be taking notes.
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PSS (Pretty Simple Solution) (Score:2)
Find a new, more neutral video transport method.
Could someone make a YT web "site" based on the Bittorrent protocol?
Viacom is the ones with the crappy keyboards (Score:2)
The problem is lobbying, not suing (Score:2)
Rather, the problem is the abuse of the copyright laws (and legislature in general) that is done by some of the corporate copyright holders. The laws are constantly extended for longer and longer period in many countries, often by pressure from countries lik
My video was removed unfairly (Score:2)
What method did Viacom use to specify which videos violate their copyright? Is there no penalty for false accusation? Is it possible that Viacom targette
Could've been worse (Score:2, Insightful)
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What use are the internets without my daily fix of Stewart and Colbert?
Every Comedy Central show (or at least several, including The Daily Show, The Colbert Report, South Park, et al) has a presence on comedydentral.com that includes the shows as video clips similar to YouTube. The problem is that although the advertisements for their "motherload" section claim you can watch entire seasons of those shows online, the simple fact is that that is not true. In the case of the Daily Show and Colbert the shows
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Quit your bitching about advertising. How do you think they pay for the show?
What exactly are you talking about?
/. criticise advertising when they're not paying for the show any other way, but that clearly wasn't the case here.
First he criticised Viacom's publicity for the show itself for being misleading. Then he criticised them for missing bits out between the breaks, not the existence of the breaks themselves.
I agree that too many people on
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1) fly to the US, submitting my fingerprints and retinal scan at the border
2) rent an apartment with cable
3) buy a DVR & program it for remote access
4) fly home & watch Colbert & co once downloaded
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