Today, Google announced that it would defend selected YouTube videos in court, if necessary, when it determined that those videos were fair uses and had received a DMCA takedown notice.
The following can be attributed to Sherwin Siy, VP of Legal Affairs for Public Knowledge:
“This is a great idea. While it only will affect a handful of videos directly, it will at least give those uploaders the confidence they need to keep their fair uses online and visible to the world.
“More importantly, though, it provides a useful signal to other users and the world as a whole as to what things constitute clear fair uses. When we're used to relying upon court cases–which naturally focus on areas of dispute–it because too easy to think that fair use is a super difficult judgment call every time. A lot of the time it's not–and these videos can illustrate those no-brainer, slam-dunk cases.”
Members of the media may contact Communications Director Shiva Stella with inquiries, interview requests, or to join the Public Knowledge press list at shiva@publicknowledge.org or 405-249-9435.