Major League Soccer Abusing The DMCA To Censor Controversial Clip Of Player Misconduct

from the copyfraud dept

Fri, Mar 30th 2012 1:53pm — Mike Masnick

Back in 2008, we wrote about how Major League Soccer (MLS) was abusing the DMCA to take down video clips which it had absolutely no copyrights over (the event was not filmed or broadcast by MLS) because it didn't like the content (showing a fight that broke out at the soccer match). It appears that MLS has not learned that you cannot abuse the DMCA just because you don't like what the clip shows, as it appears to have done it again. Big time soccer fan (and big time free speech lawyer) Paul Alan Levy noticed recently that a YouTube clip showing Houston Dynamo player Colin Clark calling a ball boy a "faggot" for not throwing the ball to him properly, had been taken down via a DMCA copyright claim from MLS.

As Levy notes, the controversy around what happened resulted in a widespread discussion among fans about the incident, including comparisons to the recent controversy over racist statements by fans in the UK. It also resulted in a public apology from Clark. And yet, still, MLS took down the video.

Levy reached out to the guy who posted the video and sent a letter on his behalf, pointing out that MLS clearly broke the law in not considering fair use before issuing the takedown. The letter lays out why the 20-second video (from a 2-hour match) was clearly, without a doubt, fair use, and how the takedown violates the clear language of the DMCA. He notes that the guy who uploaded the video is a big MLS fan (as is Levy), and they don't want to burden MLS with a lawsuit, but would like MLS to take the following steps:

Explain how it made the decision to issue a DMCA takedown notice to YouTube.
Promptly inform YouTube that it is withdrawing its takedown notice.
Express regret to Mr. Vega for the takedown notice.
Put procedures into place to ensure that fair use receives full consideration before any takedown notice is issued.
Disclose publicly both what procedures have been adopted, and what standards MLS is providing to its representatives to ensure that they give proper consideration to fair use before issuing takedown notices in the future.

Seems like an easy way out, but who knows if anyone at MLS will even pay attention enough to care.

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: abuse, copyfraud, copyright, dmca, takedowns
Companies: mls

14 Comments

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

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

ColinClark, 30 Mar 2012 @ 2:08pm

Dear Paul Alan Levy,

F*ck you, f****t and your qu**r demands...

XOXO,

Colin
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 30 Mar 2012 @ 2:09pm

'Seems like an easy way out, but who knows if anyone at MLS will even pay attention enough to care.'

regardless of whether they want to burden MLS with a lawsuit or not, i bet it will be the only way to get it sorted. like all 'big' industries or whatever, they think they can do as they like and screw everyone else.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 30 Mar 2012 @ 2:14pm

This is obviously MLS trying to use the Streisand Effect to draw more attention to the fact that there's a MLS.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 30 Mar 2012 @ 2:20pm
  
  Re:
  I LOL'd
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Anonymous Coward, 30 Mar 2012 @ 2:39pm
    
    Re: Re:
    I button'd.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 30 Mar 2012 @ 2:41pm

Perjury? What's that?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 30 Mar 2012 @ 2:41pm
  
  Re:
  must be something related to poor people
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 30 Mar 2012 @ 2:49pm
  
  Re:
  Perjury: The amount of money you must have per jury to avoid ever having to see one.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - :Lobo Santo (profile), 30 Mar 2012 @ 2:54pm
    
    Re: Re:
    See one what, poor person? Ah, that makes sense.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - That One Guy (profile), 30 Mar 2012 @ 7:53pm
    
    Re: Re:
    Funny, sad and true, all at once, truly a great comment.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Overcast (profile), 30 Mar 2012 @ 3:24pm

As if the MLS wasn't already bad enough - not only do they try to cover this up obviously, but break the law in doing it.

Fail.

I would boycott them, but I was never a big MLS fan, and I certainly won't change that now! lol
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
That Anonymous Coward (profile), 31 Mar 2012 @ 7:40pm

If they were as diligent in keeping their players from doing stupid stuff as they are in abusing the legal process this would not have happened.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Ophelia Millais (profile), 31 Mar 2012 @ 9:41pm

If the law has been broken, and the copyright owners have no intention of making it right on their own, then it needs to be made into a painful experience for them, such as by pursuing a lawsuit against them.

I'm sure that from MLS's point of view, getting shamed on a few blogs is a very small price to pay to help keep an embarrassing clip of their misbehaving employee from going viral. Is anyone pursuing any false/unjustified DMCA takedown cases in court? If not, why not? If no lawyers will take such a case, or if they always lose, then there needs to be some kind of legislative advocacy, not just a gripe on Techdirt every 4 years.

Sorry, I'm just kind of in a "sh*t or get off the pot" mood today...
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Nate Dunham, 5 Nov 2012 @ 6:06am

They can't keep up

forex bonus
[ link to this | view in chronology ]