More on KSDK’s YouTube Attack

On Wednesday we filed a formal counter-notification with YouTube in response to our account being suspended and our more than 500 videos being taken off-line. The suspension came just hours after KSDK Channel 5 filed two complaints with YouTube alleging that we violated their copyrights by using clips of their broadcast in our piece criticizing their coverage.

We believe our usage of KSDK’s video falls under the “Fair Use” provision in copyright law. From the Stanford University Libraries:

Fair use is a copyright principle based on the belief that the public is entitled to freely use portions of copyrighted materials for purposes of commentary and criticism. For example, if you wish to criticize a novelist, you should have the freedom to quote a portion of the novelist’s work without asking permission. Absent this freedom, copyright owners could stifle any negative comments about their work.

Here is a PDF of the counter-notification. We received word from YouTube last night that they had received it and forwarded it to KSDK.

Here again is the video at the center of KSDK’s complaint:

No word yet on when — or if — we’ll get access to our 500 unrelated videos.

Thanks to the following websites for mentioning our plight:

NewTeeVee.com
Missouri Political News Service
Arenas of Ideas
Arch City Chronicle
BlogKC
It’s My Mind
Highway 61
The Riverfront Times
Dee Harvey
Bill Streeter from LoFiSTL.com