IOC Orders Blogger To Take Down Video 389
An anonymous reader writes "The International Olympic Committee has ordered a blogger to remove a video from his website showing the death of Georgian luger Nodar Kumaritashvili. The IOC asserts that it owns all the rights to all images taken at the games, and only licensed broadcasters can use them. However, the blogger, Stephen Pate, points to a Canadian law that allows copyrighted images to be used in newsworthy cases."
Re:Nothing new (Score:2, Informative)
Except to NBC
Re:Nothing new (Score:5, Informative)
Yep, and the "Olympic Movement" is given special rights under US Laws that give their trademarks such as the five-ring-design even stronger protection than a typical trademark. Basically, they're claiming they need NBCU/CBC/FoxTel/your-local-Olympic-broadcaster's money to put on the games, and therefore they need super-copyright. They have it now, it'll take an act of Congress to get rid of it.
Re:If wishing made it so... (Score:4, Informative)
Do they require that everyone attending sign an agreement assigning all rights in any recordings they make to the IOC, or something along those lines?
Haven't read the back of a sports ticket lately? Every sports league claims copyright over their event, and the right to use your image while you're there. You'll find your Bluetooth not working because 2.4 GhZ unlicensed band devices are being jammed... and if you talk on the phone too long you'll find an usher making sure you're talking about something other than the game.
Looks like we've got the "1984" baseball season about to start...
Malware warning. Do not follow. (Score:2, Informative)
The linked website is a source of malware. Do not follow the above link.
Mod down (Score:1, Informative)
Warning GNAA link.
Comment removed (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Nothing new (Score:5, Informative)
Because it shames the IOC's claim that it was only the luger's fault that he died. if you watch the video, you see that a basic miscalculation (misjudging the sled's speed when correcting the trajectory) caused him to an inside wall. After that came about 1 second of flying through the air, and hitting a metal pole with his head and upper back. It was pretty much game over after he hit the inside wall. There was absolutely nothing he or anybody else could have done once he overadjusted the trajectory of his sled.
That's the tragedy, and that's why it needs to stay up: the course was designed with deadly obstacles a minor mistake away. If the downhill was held by running the skiers around large, unprotected metal poles, people would be in an uproar - and justifiably so.
Sometimes, deadly videos are important to illustrate the deadly consequence of other people's actions.
Re:I want my Streisand effect NOW! (Score:5, Informative)
From the site in TFA:
http://www.njnvideo.com/njn/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/luge_accident2.flv [njnvideo.com]
From another source:
http://s3.amazonaws.com/lazyjock/117509.flv [amazonaws.com]
Re:Nothing new (Score:3, Informative)
It's not exactly a shining-star moment in the Olympics. I'm sure they'd prefer people forgot about it and moved on.
Yes it's much easier to pay lawyers to try to shut everyone up than actually fix a dangerous track that has injured several other athletes.
Re:Locality blocks... (Score:1, Informative)
...yet.
Re:Locality blocks... (Score:5, Informative)
If this guy wanted to use the Canadian law exemption, he should have also put in a block (which is available to the big guys like the NBC and MLB) that made sure his stream was only available in Canada. He'd have no liability there, but he's breaking copyright law in the USA because he's not NBC, and every other territory where there's an official broadcaster. Remember, if you're positing on the web and not targeting a specific part of the world, you better be ready to comply with laws all over the world.
Under your logic, you could be tried and punished for any speech offensive to other countries, say Iran or North Korea. You better hurry and make sure everything you have ever posted online is blocked from everywhere that it might be illegal!
Re:Nothing new (Score:5, Informative)
Events are going on there ALL DAY. The downhill skiers aren't waiting for the Hockey game to be over; they have TONS of actual events they could be showing non-stop during their relatively few hours of Olympics broadcasts.
Indeed. They really should have 3-4 channels that show nothing BUT Olympics during the two week span of the games, that way you could actually see all the events you want to see, plus they would probably still have time for "human interest" stories (gag) between events.
I don't have a DVR, and I don't plan my schedule around TV viewing, so I've missed a lot of games I would have liked to have seen. I was lucky to have happened to be sitting in front of the TV with the Olympics on when Lindsay Vonn had her gold medal run last week. That was great. But then look at how they botched the Canada/USA hockey coverage yesterday to show "ice dancing" or whatever instead. Seriously, folks?
As pointed out elsewhere, the NBC Olympic coverage has not kept up with how people want to consume media these days.
Re:Nothing new (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Nothing new (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Nothing new (Score:5, Informative)
That's the way it is in Canada for these games, but interest is huge because we're the host country. There are at least four networks (including NBC) showing non-stop coverage here, and I've heard some of the "specialty channels" are carrying some events as well. But I don't know if there is enough interest outside of the host country to justify the kind of coverage you are calling for.
This list [wikipedia.org] notes that NBC, Universal Sports, Telemundo, USA Network, CNBC, MSNBC are carrying at least some coverage in the US.
I don't know what kind of ratings NBC is getting for these games; I know it was a concern prior to the games starting, as they paid a record amount for the rights. The US is leading in meddles, so maybe interest is higher than anticipated.
Re:Nothing new (Score:3, Informative)
NBC only showed it two or three times. Then, they announced that they wouldn't be showing it again. It's a shame that CTV didn't follow their lead in this.
Re:If wishing made it so... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Nothing new (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Nothing new (Score:5, Informative)
No amount of padding in front of the beams would've made a difference, going from 140+ km/h to zero in a fraction of a second.
What they needed was a higher wall to deflect any crashing luger downward so they'd stay on the luge track itself.
Which, incidentally, is what the Olympic organizers did immediately after. While at the same time claiming the death wasn't caused by the track, but driver error. That just disgusted me; yeah, it may have been driver error, and it was a freak accident how he hit the inner wall just so to launch out of the track, but the track was not blameless no matter what the organizers say.
Re:Nothing new (Score:3, Informative)
Sometimes, deadly videos are important to illustrate the deadly consequence of other people's actions. --
Other times, as in this case, they're great for driving up hit counts and ad revenue. I don't disagree, but let's not get so lost in high ideals that we forget the reality of how the video was being used (I checked - njnnetwork does host clickthrough ad content). In that context, this usage of a DMCA takedown makes sense and is completely appropriate.
If you're using it to report news or even give commentary on news, fine. If you're using it to give commentary and make some money off of it along the way, that's rather crossing the line.
Re:Nothing new (Score:4, Informative)
I like the human interest "crap".
Otherwise it would be just a bunch of strangers moving around on screen. At least this way we know the motivations behind the athletes. For example I would not have known that one Canadian skier was motivated by his brother's Down Syndrome to push even when he's in pain.
Re:Nothing new (Score:5, Informative)
Nobody's posted the video link, so I'm top-posting.
This [njnnetwork.com] is the specific video he was ordered to take down.
Re:Nothing new (Score:3, Informative)
Its only top posting if you turn off the threaded view.
Re:Nothing new (Score:4, Informative)
And this [njnvideo.com] is the actual video file; shift-click to download.
Can you say, Streisand effect?
I knew you could...
Re:Nothing new (Score:3, Informative)
USA didn't 'whip' Canada. Ryan Miller is just a very good goalie... 93% save percentage while Brodeur didn't do as hot with 82%.
We'll see in the finals.