More DMCA Abuse

Filed in archive Legal , Legal , People , Society & Public Policy on January 22, 2007

The abuse of the DMCA by not only the entertainment industry, but also others, has long been documented. It's easy to complain. All it takes is a cease-and-desist letter to invoke the law. There is no legal process or burden of proof required to show actual copyright ownership and infringement. The copyright law has been used to throttle free speech and prevent competition.

What is remarkable is a public admission of such misuse. Guntram Graef said "I would like to make it clear that I regret filing DMCA claims in this case, because the real issue at hand wasn't at all about copyright."

Graef used the DMCA to request that YouTube remove a video of the virtual world Second Life. In the video Second Lifers harassed Graef's wife, Anshe Chung. YouTube removed the video, even though the video, while offensive, did not infringe any copyrights.