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Dear
Ms. Hallie,
I
hope you forgive my much delayed response to your email to me last November. At
that time, having just received four DMCA takedown notices from Viacom and
having just filed my counternotices, I was unsure
about going further until the process had played itself out. Last month,
however, I was grateful to learn that Viacom withdrew those four takedown
notices filed against my videos last November. This change in posture leaves me
feeling able to initiate the dialogue you offered me last November.
That
dialogue is necessary because, when Viacom issued its 100,000 takedown notices
to YouTube in February, those notices included an
additional thirteen of my videos. It is my hope that, by contacting you
directly this time, we might be able to work things out in a way that will
relieve us of the need to keep resorting to the DMCA process. Because the
videos in question are of the same genre as the four recently reinstated
videos, I am hoping you might be willing to withdraw these thirteen takedown
notices as well. I am particularly
hopeful because I know these latest takedown notices were part of a very large
group of notices sent to YouTube that were not meant to target videos like
mine that include short Viacom clips within an original video
usually intended as political commentary.
Even
if you are unwilling to withdraw these latest thirteen takedown notices
immediately, I'm hoping, through dialogue, we can come to some agreement
that respects both Viacom's property rights and my right to include fair
use material in my original commentaries. In furtherance of that goal, I
would be happy to send you copies of the thirteen videos in question.
One
additional positive outcome from such a dialogue would be some guidance from
you as to Viacom’s standards in making its fair use determinations. I would be happy to pass that information
along to others in the YouTube community. I have actually developed significant
relationships with some of the top amateur content providers on YouTube and it
may surprise you to learn that many of them, as content creators, feel
just as strongly as Viacom does about the protection of intellectual property.
I don't think many of the amateur content providers on YouTube really recognize
this confluence of interests, however. If I could bring that message to the
YouTube community along with news of a reasonable resolution of
my copyright issues with Viacom, it would not only make the message more
credible, it would make that message more likely to spread through
the YouTube "viral" network.
In
any case, I see Viacom's withdrawal of the takedown notices against
my videos from last November as a positive sign. I am heartened that
Viacom was willing to give my videos both individual attention and a fair
evaluation that led to the withdrawal of the takedown notices. I am a big fan
of many Viacom products and I certainly have respect for intellectual property
rights and the right of its creators, producers, and distributors to be
compensated. I look forward to hearing back from you at your earliest
convenience.
Sincerely,
Allen
Asch
In
a message dated
Dear Mr. Asch:
I write on behalf of Comedy Central, owner of rights in "The Daily Show" and "The Colbert Report" ("the Series"). I understand you have filed various counternotices to takedown notices we filed with youtube upon detection of copyrighted material from the Series on your uploads. I am in the process of investigating the matter, but in the interim request that you transmit to me copies of the uploads at issue for my personal review. Rest assured that Comedy Central takes the copyright laws including the fair use defense very seriously, and will review this matter carefully. In the meantime, all correspondence should be directed to me.
Michelena Hallie
Senior Vice President
Deputy General Counsel, Intellectual Property
MTV Networks