Viacom Demands YouTube Take Down Viral Video Made By Viacom

from the read-that-again dept

Thu, Jun 12th 2008 7:45am — Mike Masnick

We know that Viacom really dislikes YouTube, but it seems to have taken that hatred a bit beyond reasonable (assuming you don't already consider its $1 billion lawsuit unreasonable). For the MTV Movie Awards (MTV being a Viacom property), Ben Stiller, Jack Black and Robert Downey Jr. made a "spoof" viral video to try to get attention for their upcoming comedy movie, Tropic Thunder. The clip was well done, and clearly recognized all the key ingredients to make a viral video a winner. So what happens with a viral video? Well, it gets sent around and, most likely, gets placed on YouTube.

So, what does Viacom do? Well, thanks to reader Cannen for pointing out the news that Viacom sent a takedown notice to YouTube. MIT's YouTomb project is tracking the takedown. It makes you wonder if Viacom is so blinded by its hatred of YouTube that it missed the point of a viral video being that it be allowed to be... you know... viral.

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: takedown, tropic thunder, viral video
Companies: google, viacom, youtube

14 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

Uday Shankar, 12 Jun 2008 @ 8:08am

More Viral...
Could that have been the point? Now that Viacom has sent a takedown notice, more people have found the video. Perhaps they used the Streisand effect as a method of advertising. I certainly didn't know about this video until you mentioned it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 12 Jun 2008 @ 10:03am
  
  Re: More Viral...
  It's just more evidence that bad things happen when lawyers make business decisions.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
bshock, 12 Jun 2008 @ 8:14am

Give Viacom what it thinks it wants
Take down that viral video now. Take down any video on YouTube that might have anything at all to do with Viacom.

Scower the web. Remove any and all content involving Viacom.

In fact, stop writing about Viacom on this blog or any other.

Viacom deserves to be forgotten.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- EFF Viacom, 12 Jun 2008 @ 12:07pm
  
  Re: Give Viacom what it thinks it wants
  Oh yeah, I second that one. Eff'm ever since "Rock the Vote"
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Fushta, 12 Jun 2008 @ 8:25am

Dogs Tail
I didn't know about this video either since I haven't watched MTV in over a decade.

This story is like the dog who bites its own tail. It's too brainless to know that it's hurting itself.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
brundlefly76, 12 Jun 2008 @ 9:11am

It was not a viral video
This was not a viral video - it was a segment produced for the MTV Movie Awards which happened to spoof the making of a corporate viral video as its subject.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Gunnar, 12 Jun 2008 @ 9:41am

It's a viral video. You don't make viral videos, they become viral when they're spread around from person to person, like this was.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
TheDock22, 12 Jun 2008 @ 10:06am

YouTomb
Actually I read the stats from the YouTomb project and was surprised the RIAA has only request one take down. I guess they are more focused on audio files than music videos.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
bob, 12 Jun 2008 @ 11:00am

If it wasn't viral before, it's certianly viral now.
It's also damn funny in an "ow my balls" kind of way.

You can find it here.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Brandon, 13 Jun 2008 @ 8:40am
  
  Re:
  You might have found the real reason Viacom wants it down off of YouTube. To force you to go to MTV's website in order to view it, thus making Viacom ad money.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jason, 12 Jun 2008 @ 11:21am

Epitomizes
...savoir fail.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Michael Setzer, 12 Jun 2008 @ 1:11pm

Irony
Ironically one of the companies involved in the production of "Tropic Thunder" is Dreamworks SKG, which as everyone knows, was bought out a few years ago by Viacom/Paramound Pictures.;-D
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Michael Setzer, 12 Jun 2008 @ 1:11pm

Irony
Ironically one of the companies involved in the production of "Tropic Thunder" is Dreamworks SKG, which as everyone knows, was bought out a few years ago by Viacom/Paramound Pictures. If Viacom were smart, they'd turn this into an opportunity to market the movie.;-D
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Josh, 12 Jun 2008 @ 1:24pm

It's for the lawsuit
It's hard to successfully sue a company for damages while continuing to use their services. Until the lawsuit is settled expect any viacom related media to be removed from YouTube.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]