For a few truly bad DMCA takedowns, YouTube offers to cover legal costs

Four video creators will come under YouTube's legal protection now, under a program unveiled today in a company blog post.

"We are offering legal support to a handful of videos that we believe represent clear fair uses which have been subject to DMCA takedowns," writes YouTube copyright lawyer Fred Von Lohmann. "With approval of the video creators, we’ll keep the videos live on YouTube in the U.S., feature them in the YouTube Copyright Center as strong examples of fair use, and cover the cost of any copyright lawsuits brought against them."

The company can't offer legal protection to every video with a strong fair-use defense, but Von Lohmann writes that "even the small number of videos we are able to protect will make a positive impact on the entire YouTube ecosystem, ensuring YouTube remains a place where creativity and expression can be rewarded."

The first four videos in the program were made by a game reviewer, a UFO debunker, an Ohio pro-choice group, and a commentator and comedian.

Constantine Guiliotis has the YouTube channel dedicated to debunking UFO sightings, called UFO theater. He accomplishes that by analyzing videos published by others that purport to be UFOs. In an example highlighted by YouTube, Guiliotis says an account called "Mr. UFO" should consider renaming itself "Mister Bullcrap McHoaxwaffle."

"It was very gratifying to know a company cares about fair use and to single out someone like me," Guiliotis told The New York Times. 

If YouTube is successful in defending the videos—and it's hard to believe it won't be, for the videos that come under its protection—it could end up as a growing and significant library of what constitutes fair use in the digital age. The program could also help the company's reputation with YouTube creators, some of which are dismayed by how slanted the current takedown process is in favor of copyright owners.

Indeed, within hours of the company's post going up on its policy blog, two YouTube creators have chimed in praising the program but asking the company to go further in restoring balance.

"My videos have been subjected to repeated and unwarranted DMCA takedown requests," wrote one video maker, Hugh Atkin. He has sent counter-notifications, only to have identical takedown notices pop up months later. "I would urge YouTube to look at ways of discouraging such obviously vexatious abuses of process on the part of claimants."

The four examples chosen so far are extremely clear examples of fair use—three of them touch on current controversies of various sorts, while the fourth is a critical review. If YouTube's protected videos get edgier, and one was challenged by a large and litigious copyright holder, it would be a battle for the ages.