MLB Strikes Out With Copyright Enforcement

28. Jul, 2009 Categories: Content by Curt Mercadante 2 Comments

So, as I’ve mentioned before, I’m a Chicago White Sox fan.  So it should come as no surprise that I was extremely happy with Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle’s perfect game last week.

One of the keys to that perfect game was an amazing ninth-inning running/jumping/off-the-wall catch by center fielder Dewayne Wise to save a home run.

The catch was so amazing that I captured excerpted footage of it from WhiteSox.com and posted it on my YouTube page.

Within 24 hours, 1,000 people had viewed the video.  By last Monday, more than 5,000 had viewed it.  All the comments were positive.

Then — I got the notice from YouTube telling me that Major League Baseball had flagged the video for copyright violations and it was removed.

Now, I’m not naive.  I thought there was a chance this would happen.  But, quite honestly, I thought/hoped Major League Baseball (MLB) was smarter than that.

Last edited by Curt Mercadante on August 3, 2009 at 8:56 pm

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2 Comments

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  1. None 29. Jul, 2009 at 4:02 pm #

    Taking someone’s copyrighted intellectual property and retransmitting it without seeking permission is blatantly … WRONG! You were wrong to do it, and MLB was right to demand the violation be removed from YouTube. Just because it’s online doesn’t mean it’s free, or that anyone can steal it and reuse the content!

    Learn the rules before you complain!

  2. curtmerc 30. Jul, 2009 at 8:04 am #

    To the previous commenter…

    The doctrine of fair use is not only a developing and grey area … the enforcement of it is left up to the organization in question.

    I can fully understand why MLB would not want people to copy full games and put on YouTube or sell for financial gain.

    But, again, the clip I posted was extremely short, was not for financial gain, and could only have a positive effect in helping to build the MLB brand.

    MLB chose to enforce this — that’s what I’m questioning.

    I was not substituting anyone’s work for my own and attempting to profit from it.

    What if I had recorded the game on my DVR and replayed that portion of the game for a house full of guests?

    Preventing fans from doing these things is not a smart way to build a brand, plain and simple.