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Is Major League Soccer Sending False DMCA Takedown Notices?
from the maybe-so dept
Dave writes in with an interesting story suggesting that Major League Soccer is potentially violating the DMCA by issuing a takedown of footage for which it does not own the copyright. The details are a little confusing, and some parts aren't entirely clear -- but from the account at the link, two Major League Soccer teams participated in a separate tournament, called the U.S. Open Cup. The event was not televised at all, despite efforts among fans to provide a streaming webcast. Apparently, at the soccer match, a fight broke out, and the local news covered it, using footage from the game. Following this, some bloggers posted the news stations' story about the fight on YouTube -- at which point MLS sent a DMCA takedown notice. The question is whether or not MLS has copyright over the footage (MLS's trademarks are meaningless here, as the DMCA only refers to copyright).
What is not clear is who took the footage. Considering that the game was not televised and the event itself was not an MLS event, it's difficult to believe that it's MLS's footage, and thus, MLS wouldn't hold the copyright over it. However, even if it is MLS coverage, the fact that it was a newsworthy event, and the footage was used in a news report, it would suggest that this particular snippet was actually fair use as used in commenting on it for news purposes. And, if anything, the copyright on the overall clip of the newscast belonged not to MLS, but to the news company. Overall, it seems quite likely that this attempt to censor the clip from YouTube was illegal, as MLS is probably asserting copyright over content for which it does not hold the copyright. But, these days, that's just all in a day's work of misusing the DMCA.
What is not clear is who took the footage. Considering that the game was not televised and the event itself was not an MLS event, it's difficult to believe that it's MLS's footage, and thus, MLS wouldn't hold the copyright over it. However, even if it is MLS coverage, the fact that it was a newsworthy event, and the footage was used in a news report, it would suggest that this particular snippet was actually fair use as used in commenting on it for news purposes. And, if anything, the copyright on the overall clip of the newscast belonged not to MLS, but to the news company. Overall, it seems quite likely that this attempt to censor the clip from YouTube was illegal, as MLS is probably asserting copyright over content for which it does not hold the copyright. But, these days, that's just all in a day's work of misusing the DMCA.
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So?
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The video is back online
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XIE7lmgK2xw
I think MLS realized their mistake and quietly fixed it, hoping the rest of us wouldn't notice. They've been trying to bury the U.S. Open Cup for years, because they don't want the rest of America to find out there's another soccer league (USL) with teams in major cities that might actually be able to compete with MLS on the pitch.
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Re: The video is back online
I just can't figure out why they run a season at odds with all the major soccer leagues of the world and play half the amount of games. We're losing some of our best talent to European soccer.
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Only the Begining
Furthermore, it appears that companies don't even have to provide proof that they actually own content in order to "lock the content down".
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it's soccer for goodness sake
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Re: it's soccer for goodness sake
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Re: it's soccer for goodness sake
(Disclaimer: I am a white, male, protestant, middle-class American and only have subtle ties to European and American Indian bloodlines.)
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Re: Re: it's soccer for goodness sake
It's lame for people to say it's the world's most popular sport when the only reason is because there isn't any other sport to play.
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Wha?
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URL(s) of illegal take down notices and lawyers who take such cases?
I know a gal who wants to put up some content, and I figure the expected DMCA takedown notice would create a Striesand effect. (Hint: involves a rat who runs a game and bad pizza racket)
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Why the assumption that they don't own the rights?
In the few instances where an MLS team has provided video streaming coverage of a USOC game, that coverage has been available at the MLS website, while when a USL team has a home game in the USOC, video streams of those games have been available at the USL website.
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Footy
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gogogo
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