Takedown notice
I'm removing my August 4, 2007 entry because I don't really have time to defend myself in court (I wasn't aware that embedding low-quality videos from outside sources in a blog post can get you sued for copyright infringement... well, you learn something new every day). If you want to see it, you can always check out the cached Google version.
Here's the message I got in the mail:
Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2007 22:38:58 UT
From: "LiveJournal Abuse Team"
We have received a report, properly formatted under the provisions set
forth by United States law, indicating that your entry located at
http://niffiwan.livejournal.com/3916.html violates the copyright of
another. As such, we hereby direct you to remove that entry as soon as
possible, but no later than 00:01 (midnight) EST 24 September, 2007, to
avoid further action against your account.
If you feel that this report is in error or that your use of the
material falls under one of the categories permitted under copyright law, you
are entitled to file a counter-notification, also under the provisions
of US law; please contact us for information on how to do this. Filing
a counter-notification indicates that you are willing to defend
yourself in court against a charge of copyright infringement, and you may be
bound by civil and possibly criminal penalties if you are found liable.
Regards,
Eric
LiveJournal Abuse Prevention Team
I have no idea who filed the complaint; probably the same person/organization who had the video removed from Google Video. Now, I guess that's fair enough - it WAS put up there without permission. However, if you folks are reading this, I'd just like to say that I meant no harm to your organization; my aim was actually to raise the profile of your film among English-speaking audiences, where it is practically unknown. I succeeded a bit; it was noticed by Cartoon Brew, for example. That's why I linked to your website and where it could be bought on DVD. I also translated it to English - although English subtitles presumably already existed, they were never seen anywhere outside of some festivals.
ADDENDUM:
Aha! Things are beginning to clear up. What we have here aren't any copyright violations coming from the Russia's Pilot Studio. Rather, they're coming from Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. "Welcome (a paint-on-glass-animated film based on "Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose") was recently taken down from Youtube, and they were identified as the party asking for removal.
Interestingly enough, I doubt that ANY of the Russian films based on Dr. Seuss's tales were made with their permission. Nobody cared about getting permission in the Soviet Union (as testified to by the famous Russian Winnie-the-Pooh films, among many other things), and I think that nothing had changed by the time that Pilot Studio released their film in 1992.
It will be interesting to see if any Western companies go further with this and attempt to pursue their claims of copyright infringement in Russia, rather than simply removing films from Youtube which never belonged to them in the first place. There could be quite an uproar from ordinary Russians if they tried. Those films were often better than any of the "official" films authorized by the companies, and they often added a significant amount of artistry that wasn't in the original property.
Here's the message I got in the mail:
Date: Fri, 21 Sep 2007 22:38:58 UT
From: "LiveJournal Abuse Team"
We have received a report, properly formatted under the provisions set
forth by United States law, indicating that your entry located at
http://niffiwan.livejournal.com/3916.html violates the copyright of
another. As such, we hereby direct you to remove that entry as soon as
possible, but no later than 00:01 (midnight) EST 24 September, 2007, to
avoid further action against your account.
If you feel that this report is in error or that your use of the
material falls under one of the categories permitted under copyright law, you
are entitled to file a counter-notification, also under the provisions
of US law; please contact us for information on how to do this. Filing
a counter-notification indicates that you are willing to defend
yourself in court against a charge of copyright infringement, and you may be
bound by civil and possibly criminal penalties if you are found liable.
Regards,
Eric
LiveJournal Abuse Prevention Team
I have no idea who filed the complaint; probably the same person/organization who had the video removed from Google Video. Now, I guess that's fair enough - it WAS put up there without permission. However, if you folks are reading this, I'd just like to say that I meant no harm to your organization; my aim was actually to raise the profile of your film among English-speaking audiences, where it is practically unknown. I succeeded a bit; it was noticed by Cartoon Brew, for example. That's why I linked to your website and where it could be bought on DVD. I also translated it to English - although English subtitles presumably already existed, they were never seen anywhere outside of some festivals.
ADDENDUM:
Aha! Things are beginning to clear up. What we have here aren't any copyright violations coming from the Russia's Pilot Studio. Rather, they're coming from Dr. Seuss Enterprises, L.P. "Welcome (a paint-on-glass-animated film based on "Thidwick the Big-Hearted Moose") was recently taken down from Youtube, and they were identified as the party asking for removal.
Interestingly enough, I doubt that ANY of the Russian films based on Dr. Seuss's tales were made with their permission. Nobody cared about getting permission in the Soviet Union (as testified to by the famous Russian Winnie-the-Pooh films, among many other things), and I think that nothing had changed by the time that Pilot Studio released their film in 1992.
It will be interesting to see if any Western companies go further with this and attempt to pursue their claims of copyright infringement in Russia, rather than simply removing films from Youtube which never belonged to them in the first place. There could be quite an uproar from ordinary Russians if they tried. Those films were often better than any of the "official" films authorized by the companies, and they often added a significant amount of artistry that wasn't in the original property.