Aussie Startups

John Allsop asks Where are the Aussie Startups? on the webdirections weblog.

I’m glad to see him asking if we’re getting our own culture, because I think in some respects we are. I certainly interact with a bunch of other entrepreneurs around Australia on a weekly basis. It seems that there is now a greater focus on startups around the country, with the press and venture capital firms, taking a harder look.

Our main issue in facilitating our own startup culture is our spread across the country. Anyone want to fund an Aussie Startup conference, and have us all meet face-to-face once a year?

YouTube Claims DMCA Governs Recordings of Public Events

I received an email from YouTube at the end of last week. They were notifying me that they were removing a few videos I had posted of the Red Bull Air Race that I had taken with my camera phone as a “citizen journalist” for PerthNorg when the air show was in Perth (see the brief story here).

This is to notify you that we have removed or disabled access to the following material as a result of a third-party notification by IMG Media claiming that this material is infringing

However, the videos they removed were taken in public. Anyone in Perth could have done the same, because the planes were flying over the Swan River in front of the entire city of Perth.

This highlights two things. Firstly, YouTube are in a world of pain if they have to send out ridiculous DMCA Complaints like this one. I can only imagine the overhead to the business that this is causing.

Secondly, it raises a much larger issue with respect to copyright. Are IMG Media, the people that organize the Red Bull Air Race, suggesting that they own the copyright to all free public displays of the Red Bull Air Race? What type of precedent would that set.

I, like several hundred thousand other people, enjoyed watching the free public display over the city at the end of last year. I didn’t buy tickets, I signed no agreement. So, how can they claim I violated copyright when I only recorded something that was visible to thousands.

YouTube provided information in their Help Center on how I can “send us a counter notice.” So I responded in the required format. We’ll see what happens.

Update:
Jodie asked that I provide my email to help others in the future. I’m not a lawyer, so I’m not completely certain this is the correct format for the email. But here it is:

to copyright@youtube.com
date 22-Feb-2007 23:54
subject Counter-Notification

With respect to your Copyright infringement notice sent via email today.

I refer to three videos:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtcnafjZyZo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O_lqbw0l9Qk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EtcnafjZyZo

I only believe that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material to be removed or disabled. I videoed this footage myself on a Nokia mobile phone in a public place where anyone could watch or video the event, with no contract restricting such.

Name: Richard Giles
Address: ————————————

I consent for any judicial district in which the service provider may be found, and that I will accept service of process from the person who provided notification under subsection (c)(1)(C) or an agent of such person.

Please let me know if you require anything further.

please accept this as an electronic signature.

Richard Giles