MLB Backs Down When Someone It Bullies Explains Fair Use To Them
from the well,-that's-better-than-the-alternative dept
For years now, Major League Baseball's online division, MLB.com, has been over aggressive in claiming ownership and control over anything associated with Major League Baseball -- even though court after court has told them they don't get to control everything. However, MLB just keeps on claiming ownership of things anyway, such as sending out various DMCA takedown notices to YouTube for any clip of baseball put up by anyone else. Larry Lessig has the story, though, of one fan who fought back and filed a detailed counterclaim about how his video was fair use and MLB was repeatedly abusing its power in damaging ways. Amazingly, not only did MLB relent, it featured the video it had just demanded get taken down on its own blog. To be honest, there's a chance that the two things are unrelated, and the blogger had no idea that the parent company's lawyers were trying to shut down the video -- but the story is a good reminder that if someone is overreaching in their takedown attempts, it can be effective to respond with a counternotice that clearly states the issues.
Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.
Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.
While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.
–The Techdirt Team
Filed Under: baseball, fair use, josh hamilton, the natural
Companies: mlb
Reader Comments
Subscribe: RSS
View by: Time | Thread
I refuse to support a bully.
I like to watch baseball, but not to the extent that I water down my principles to watch it.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
STOP THAT
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
I gave up on baseball in the wake of the steroid cheating scandals of the '90s. The pennant races, pursuit of records, and the World Series just don't seem real anymore.
However, it is to MLB's credit they backed down from this particular issue.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
not much to right about?
wow, thanks for catching this..the legal world will never be the same.
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: not much to right about?
Do your parents know you're using the computer, little boy?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
Re: not much to right about?
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
I didn't realize
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
[ reply to this | link to this | view in chronology ]
Add Your Comment
Add A Reply