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Wired’s Science blog talks about how Rational Response Squad, an anti-creationist group, had its YouTube videos taken down after DMCA requests by a counter group.

They had run videos about the Creation Science Evangelism Ministries, using videos from the CSE’s website (which plainly stated “none of the materials … are copyrighted, so feel free to copy these and distribute them freely”) and their own original taped materials, and all received DMCA claims and were promptly taken down.

Now, we can’t expect YouTube to actually look at all videos before they are taken, since presumably thousands are taken down per day, but they could at least think about looking into all takedown requests that are not specifically related to TV shows and major movie studios.

At the very least, Google should create a DMCA counter-claim form, a page where those who have been wrongfully attacked by a DMCA claim can file the necessary counter-claim. Currently, the process for doing so is burdensome for someone who isn’t being paid hourly lawyer fees to do so, and YouTube could probably cut down on most of these problems by merely providing a mechanism for fixing them.

Real pirates wouldn’t use them, and those wrongfully accused would have a way to correct problems and abuse before they become Wired articles.

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