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Viacom Says User Infringed His Own Copyright
Chris Knight writes "I ran for school board where I live this past fall and created some TV commercials including this one with a 'Star Wars' theme. A few months ago VH1 grabbed the commercial from YouTube and featured it in a segment of its show 'Web Junk 2.0.' Neither VH1 or its parent company Viacom told me they were doing this or asked my permission to use it, but I didn't mind it if they did. I thought that Aries Spears's commentary about it was pretty hilarious, so I posted a clip of VH1's segment on YouTube so that I could put it on my blog. I just got an e-mail from YouTube saying that the video has been pulled because Viacom is claiming that I'm violating its copyright. Viacom used my video without permission on their commercial television show, and now says that I am infringing on their copyright for showing the clip of the work that Viacom made in violation of my own copyright!"
So if I post an entire movie but give a commentary of it alongside its fair use?
liqbase
Copyright, as it exists today, isn't to protect content creators. Few music and graphic artists actually keep copyright to their works, instead losing them as works-for-hire. Copyright exists soley to monetize "content." You were not monetizing it, and that's probably why Viacom stepped in to claim copyright.
To sound preachy for a minute, this is the capitalist version of nationalization. Seriously, I'm currently working with a major content company (Time Warner), and that's the way they treat content. Look at their remote DVR. They feel they can make money by violating the copyright of many, many content creators. Many in operations and senior management feel that if it's not being monetized, then it should be yours.
So, your problem was that you weren't making sufficient money, and that you weren't sufficiently powerful to protect yourself. Get yourself a good lawyer and prove them wrong.