EFF ‘Colbert Report’ parody case
p2pnet.net news:- Viacom didn’t like Stop the Falsiness, MoveOn.org Civic Action and Brave New Films’ satirical send-up of The Colbert Report. So it ordered Google to order YouTube to take it down.
YouTube complied.
Now, calling the removal a “a baseless copyright complaint,” the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) wants a declaratory judgment from a federal court that “Stop the Falsiness” doesn’t infringe any Viacom copyright. It’s also asking for damages and injunctive relief, “restraining Viacom from bringing any more copyright claims in connection with the video”.
“Our clients’ video is an act of free speech and a fair use of ‘Colbert Report’ clips,” says EFF staff laywer Corynne McSherry.
“Viacom knows this – it’s the same kind of fair use that ‘The Colbert Report’ and ‘The Daily Show’ rely upon every night as they parody other channels’ news coverage.”
“We’re putting Stephen Colbert on notice,” says a Stop the Falsiness petition, going on, “For almost a year, his ceaseless falsiness – disguised, shamelessly, as truthiness – has gone unchallenged.” So, “Stand up to Stephen Colbert. Watch the movie, learn the facts – and then sign our petition to end Colbert’s falsiness once and for all.”
But, “did it ever occure to you guys that he is being extremely sarcestic?!” – wonders a comment post. “If you actually listen to what he is saying you realize what he is saying is rediculous. And that the Bush administration is rediculous. Get a fucking clue. And I like how Al Franken was ON the Colbert Report…”
Meanwhile, under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), a, “mere allegation of copyright infringement on the Internet can result in content removal, silencing a creator before any misuse is proven,” says the EFF. “This ’shoot first, ask questions later’ system can silence online artists and critics, creating unfair hurdles to free speech.”
The foundation is working with Stanford’s Center for Internet and Society on the case.
Also See:
EFF – Free Speech Battle Over Online Parody of ‘Colbert Report’, March 22, 2007
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March 23rd, 2007 at 12:59 am
Why do I have reason to believe that this campaign is itself a parody of an opposition to the parody that is the Colbert Report?