PENTAGON USES FALSE COPYRIGHT CLAIM TO TAKE VIDEO OFF YOUTUBE

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THREAT LEVEL - Lawyers representing the Air Force's elite electronic
warriors have sent YouTube a DMCA takedown notice demanding the removal
of the 30-second spot the Air Force created to promote its nascent Cyber
Command. We'd uploaded the video to share with readers.

How quickly alliances shift in the murky new world of Cyberarmageddon.
It was just last month that the Air Force sent us the ad, and thanked
Threat Level for agreeing to run it. The spot shows earnest airmen
deftly thwarting a hacker attack on the Pentagon using Minority
Report-type touch-and-drag screens. I'm certain hundreds, if not
thousands, of geeks have already enlisted as a result of our patriotic
shilling for the Air Force.

Now, though, it seems we're just another cyber enemy to be squashed like
so many Chinese DDoSers or unsanctioned blogs. . .

But Air Force marketing chief Keith Lebling, who sent us the spot in the
first place, says any intellectual property claim should have gone
through his office, and none did.

U.S. Government works aren't even copyrightable. YouTube doesn't know
that -- presumably because it has no lawyers -- and it's taken down the
video. A spokeswoman said in an e-mail that the Google-owned service has
no choice but to comply with DMCA notices. That's not quite right,
though. YouTube has no legal obligation to remove non-infringing
content.

Fortunately, we have our own servers. You can see the restored Cyber
Command ad below. Catch it before someone drops an EMP bomb down our
chimney.

Update: YouTube has sent along the DMCA notice (.pdf). It's signed by
Meredith Pikser, an attorney with international law firm Reed Smith LLP,
on behalf of the Air Force.

http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/03/air-force-cyber.html

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