Easy Come, Easy Go: EMI Pulls Video Of Drunk Guy Singing Bohemian Rhapsody, Reinstates It After Backlash

from the can't-do-this-to-me-baby dept

Tue, Apr 3rd 2012 10:33am — Mike Masnick

You may have heard the story in the last few days about the really drunk guy, Robert Wilkinson, who was arrested and put in a police car up in Canada, and responded by breaking into song with a complete rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody. If you haven't seen it yet, you're one of just a few people:
So what happened? You guessed it. EMI, in its ultimate ridiculousness, issued a takedown for violating its publishing copyright. The immediate outcry actually made EMI back down, with the company saying:

"It seems like a mistake has been made."

That's a fun way of indirectly saying "hey, we made a mistake." Suggesting "a mistake has been made" leaves open the possibility that someone else made that mistake. But, in this day and age where the major labels are so quick to shut down anything that doesn't involve them first getting a huge check, perhaps the "mistake" is with the way the law works.

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Filed Under: bohemian rhapsody, drunk, queen, youtube
Companies: emi

40 Comments

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Jay (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 10:10am

All that singing...
And he didn't break into dance.

I like how right at the end he states "physical violence is the least of my priorities." Carry on with the protests good sir, carry on...
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saulgoode (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 10:44am

He did not seem especially intoxicated -- just an extremely untalented singer.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Apr 2012 @ 10:46am

I think he does a pretty good job. I'd jam with that guy.
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Chris Rhodes (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 10:46am

Passive Tone
A "mistake was made" in the exact same sense that "the homeowner was impacted by a bullet discharged from the firearm held by a SWAT team member".

Why do videos get pulled? Why do homeowners get shot? It's a complete mystery!
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:Lobo Santo (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 10:54am

Re: Passive Tone
I here blaming science has come into vogue once again.

Try this one on for size:
"Why do homeowners get shot?"
"Science!"

Pretty good, eh?
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Apr 2012 @ 10:58am

"perhaps the "mistake" is with the way the law works."

Exactly, the law shouldn't leave it up to some random entity to determine if their own takedown request is valid, the law should require a neutral third party (ie: due process, via a judge) make that determination and it should severely punish those who make bogus takedown requests.
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Machin Shin (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 10:58am

A mistake was made.
"It seems like a mistake has been made." We did not want to take the video down we were just looking for criminals name and address so we can sue him for his public performance of our copyrighted work.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Apr 2012 @ 10:59am

Re: Re: Passive Tone
Weapons are a product of science, so yes, it's true. Science is to blame.
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Noah Callaway, 3 Apr 2012 @ 11:00am

Passive Voice
Using the passive voice -- making the subject of the sentence the noun acted upon (rather than the actor) -- is a classic PR trick to minimize blame and/or fault.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Apr 2012 @ 11:08am

I am suspecting the video was taken down by name (it's a pretty exceptional name) without serious review, and when the yelling started, they actually reviewed it.

The takedown is valid (not nice, but valid), but leaving it up is the right choice here.
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GMacGuffin (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 11:16am

Since when does DMCA have a "Disrespectful" Element?
From the linked article:

�It seems like a mistake has been made,� said Dylan Jones, a spokesman with EMI in New York.

He said the company often requests videos be pulled from the site if they are �disrespectful,� but it did not in this case.

Er, huh? What? Let's hope that was just the writer's error, 'cause otherwise ...
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Leigh Beadon (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 11:17am

Re:
I am suspecting the video was taken down by name

Probably - and that's a violation of the DMCA takedown requirements. You can't make a sworn legal statement in "good faith" that a YouTube video is infringing without actually watching the video.

The takedown may turn out to be valid, but issuing it based on the title of a video is not.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Apr 2012 @ 11:19am

Re: Re: Passive Tone
"Science!"

Thomas Dolby on line three for you.
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Leigh Beadon (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 11:19am

Re: Since when does DMCA have a "Disrespectful" Element?
Unfortunately it probably wasn't an error at all. A lot of people seem to think copyright is a moral right - and they turn it into one by selectively exercising their copyrights based on their moral preferences. Add that to the list of problems caused by lopsided copyright law.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Apr 2012 @ 11:28am

Re: Re: Since when does DMCA have a "Disrespectful" Element?
That is why it needs to end.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Apr 2012 @ 11:43am

LOL. Now the video is down due to a copyright claim by Robert wilkinson

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOKKWtJoDHg&feature=youtu.be
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Chosen Reject (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 11:44am

I hope the squad car has paid the appropriate license fees.
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Ninja (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 11:58am

Beelzebub has a devil put aside for me.. For me... FOR MEEEEEEE!

Replace "Beelzebub" with "The public" and "a devil" for "awareness" and keep singing the song...
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:01pm

I cant help but wonder if this was their way of easing us in, regulate something THEY think is MINOR, so when they have something they trully want taking down, we've all already become 'accustomed' to it
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ltlw0lf (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:02pm

Re: Re: Passive Tone
Try this one on for size:
"Why do homeowners get shot?"
"Science!"

I like this response better... "ballistics". Newtonian physics would also work.
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grammar police, 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:03pm

spelling mistake
*cheque
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Ninja (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:16pm

Re:
Now that's some epic win for comedy. The guy should pursue this career lmao
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Andrew (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:19pm

Re:
Absolutely. In fact I'm sure he isn't the first person to sing in a police car like this. Arguably these performances take place in a "place open to the public" (car parks or the streets) and often, as here, at sufficient volume for those outside the car to enjoy the rendition too, so there's a reasonable case to be made that all police vehicles should have to purchase appropriate public performance licences.
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Baldaur Regis (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:20pm

pffffft.
Everybody knows that bot scrapers have absolutely no sense of humor. Or satire. Or fair use.
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Dark Helmet (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:24pm

Hmmmm
"You may have heard the story in the last few days about the really drunk guy, Robert Wilkinson, who was arrested and put in a police car up in Canada, and responded by breaking into song with a complete rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody."

I think it's a little unfair to change the person's name to Robert Wilkinson when we all know this was Marcus Carab after a night of too many appletinis and Twizzlers....
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:26pm

Re:
Why are people signing statements swearing that they are the owners of content under threat of perjury if they are only looking at a title and not the content?
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Mike C. (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:27pm

Re: Passive Tone
It's no mystery. It's God. Don't you listen to Bill O'Reilly? If you can't explain it, it must be God's hand at work!!

Oh wait... Can I even mention his name? I mean, that might infringe on his publicity rights or something? And didn't he come up with the idea about explaining the unexplainable? Oh crap, now I probably have to pay a license fee as well...

/some kind of mark goes here... or something
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:28pm

Why are that guys hands not cuffed? Do Canadian cops not cuff everyone who gets in their cars?
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Leigh Beadon (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:29pm

Re: Hmmmm
Nah, I probably would've sung this
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Dark Helmet (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:29pm

Re:
Canadian criminals are too polite to run away....
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:35pm

Re: spelling mistake
"Check" is Americanize for "Cheque". Both legit.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Apr 2012 @ 12:44pm

Re:
You must be a lush if you think this guy "did not seem especially intoxicated". If I was this guy I would be pissed that the video went public can you imagine the backlash this will have on his job opportunities. Who is going to want to hire a drunk dumbass.
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Baldaur Regis (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 2:31pm

Re:
I too look forward to more covers by Mr. Wilkinson. Perhaps he'll become the Canadian Justin Bieber, only more awesome because he's got that whole drunk thing going for him, and he's not a goofy-haired tweener. Hopefully his future releases will also be filmed in police-o-vision - it really adds impact to his vids.
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Mike Masnick (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 4:03pm

Re:
I am suspecting the video was taken down by name (it's a pretty exceptional name) without serious review, and when the yelling started, they actually reviewed it.

The takedown is valid (not nice, but valid), but leaving it up is the right choice here.

You appear not to be familiar with the DMCA. If the takedown was, as you say, by name, then it is not "valid." A valid takedown requires the party issuing the takedown to check out the content and swear -- upon penalty of perjury -- that the content itself is infringing.

I would suggest familiarizing yourself with the DMCA before making statements about how "valid" this is.
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Indy, 3 Apr 2012 @ 4:32pm

Re: Re:
An employer that recognizes that his skills are valuable and that he can do the job sober during company time?
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The Infamous Joe (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 4:33pm

Re: Re:
Physical violence was the least of his priorities.
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IKnowthisGuy, 3 Apr 2012 @ 5:43pm

Not just drunk
I know this guy i don't know how drunk he was but i do know he is extremely schizophrenic that's why he can sing the whole song as no drunk guy has a memory that good. The cops know him(a small town 8000 people) probably why it was released as he is arrested all the time.
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Anonymous Coward, 3 Apr 2012 @ 7:21pm

Am I the only one who thinks a duet should have occurred?

Police: We'll not let you go ):
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The Infamous Joe (profile), 3 Apr 2012 @ 7:34pm

Re:
Haha, no, I figured that was the reason for all the hype; that the cops joined in.

Sadly, I was disappointed.
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Anonymous Coward, 4 Apr 2012 @ 6:28am

Re: Re: Re: Passive Tone
also, without science, no homes, so no homeowners.
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