Well, Will You Look At That!

Google, YouTube Video Challenge

Rights group attacks self-help group’s Google and YouTube ‘cult’ video demands.

An international self-help organization has subpoenaed YouTube and Google Video for the identity of the individuals who uploaded a French-made video that the group believes infringes its U.S. copyright, and that subpoena is being challenged by a U.S. digital rights group. The case revolves around a French documentary that portrays the Landmark Forum, an international educational group, as a cult, a portrayal the group sees as damaging. The documentary, entitled Voyage to the Land of the New Gurus, includes hidden camera footage purportedly from inside a Landmark Forum event in France, as well as from inside the Landmark offices in France. The forum charges that the documentary also includes material from its manual, which the organization said is protected by U.S. copyright law, so when the documentary showed up on YouTube, Google Video, and Internet Archive, the San Francisco-based Forum sprang into action. The organization subpoenaed the three web sites hosting the video for the identities of the uploaders.

Find out more in today’s story.