EFF is collecting reports on innocent videos that were censored off the net by Viacom's legal attack on YouTube last week. The entertainment company sent over 100,000 indiscriminate takedown notices to YouTube, resulting in the disappearance of countless personal, noninfringing videos and untold fair use videos. They're looking for the kind of takedown that can be used as part of a legal action against Viacom. To help publicize the campaign to youtubers who've been attacked by Viacom, EFF has created a little YouTube video of its own.
If they are making these kinds of blatant mistakes, who can tell how many fair uses of Viacom content they also targeted in their 100,000 takedowns? Hundreds? Thousands? If Viacom made a clear mistake and your clip contains no content from Viacom-owned copyrighted works, sending a simple DMCA counter-notice to YouTube may be enough to do the job. But if you're attempting to make a fair use of Viacom's works, it may make more sense to go to court to assert your rights. More information about your options is available at the Fair Use Network.Has your video been removed from YouTube based on a bogus Viacom takedown? If so, contact information@eff.org –we may be able to help you directly or help find another lawyer who can. In this situation, as in so many others, EFF will work to make sure that copyright claims don't squelch free speech.
