Daily Archive for July 10th, 2008

Resolution to YouTube VeggieTales (non)copyright infringement

Published
by
Graham
on July 10, 2008
in Niagara Falls Blog News and Niagara Falls Videos
. 4 Comments

Almost a month ago I posted about a notice I had received from YouTube telling me the following:

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 Entertainment Rights claiming that this material is infringing

This was about a video of Bronto’s Adventure Playland with VeggieTales. Entertainment Rights is the corporation that owns Big Idea. Big Idea is the VeggieTales company. So apparently they saw the word VeggieTales and said it was copyright infringement.

In the email it said that in order to get the video back, I had to send a counter notice. I replied to the email within 10 minutes, and told them it was ridiculous. Obviously no one had looked at the video, and demanded that it be put back up. 24 hours later I still hadn’t received a response yet. Another 24 hours went by and I finally got a response back that said the following:

When we’re notified that a particular video uploaded to our site infringes another’s copyright, we remove the material as the law requires. If you feel a content owner has misidentified your content as infringing, you may file a counter-notification.

So I checked out the counter-notification page, and I would have had to send in a document to Google that might be used in Federal District Court in San Francisco County, California. What?! I have a video of an attraction in Niagara Falls and I need to send a document that would be used in court to prove that it isn’t copyrighted material?!

So, I replied to that message again, and also emailed an info email address at Entertainment Rights, and the customer service email address at Big Idea. I was pretty angry. VeggieTales is supposed to teach good moral values (Sunday morning values, Saturday morning fun), yet they essentially lied to Google about my video. Even though I’m sure it was software that did it automatically, it still reflected bad on them.

Three days later I still hadn’t heard back again from Google/YouTube, Entertainment Rights, or Big Idea, so I emailed Entertainment Rights and Big Idea again. Later that day, I got an email from someone named Tammy that said:

I have passed along your concern to our legal group to review

She then emailed me the next day (without me email in between):

Again, thank you for your patience.  Our sincere apologies for the disappointment you have experienced with this incident.  Google has been contacted and hope to have resolution very soon.

Then finally, one week later, I received the following from Google/YouTube:

Dear Graham,

Entertainment Rights has retracted its copyright claim with respect to the following video:

Bronto’s Adventure Playland with VeggieTales http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=bMrq5Mmqu2o

This content has been restored and your account will not be penalised.
For technical reasons, it may take a day for the video to be available again.

Hope this helps,

Vicky
The YouTube Team

So, it’s now back up. I watched the video, and there isn’t a single shot of anything that says VeggieTales on it. The entire video is of the inside of the place. You don’t even see the sign (which has VeggieTales on it).

Anyway, I’m glad that’s over with. But it sure was frustrating. It seems like there should be some sort of punishment/consequence for companies that file erroneous claims. They have the right to file a claim/notice, and I have no chance to defend myself before they take the video down?!

As a side note, remember that you can see all of my Niagara Falls related YouTube videos right here on my site. Just visit the blog and at the top of every page is a link called Videos

A Life on the Run: Niagara Ultra 50 km-summary

Published
by
Graham
on July 10, 2008
in Niagara Falls Scenery and Niagara Falls Trips
. 0 Comments

Someone with a Blogger blog who likes to run, posted about a recent run through Niagara Falls:

The Niagara Ultra is one of my favorite races. The course is beautiful (even with this year’s modification I refused to embrace…and thus ended up running 60+ km!). The course follows a recreation path along the Niagara River on the Canadian side of the River. It goes by several scenic and historic sites including monuments by Queenstown, the Botanical Gardens, the Spanish Aero Car, the Floral Clock. My extralong version also passed whirlpool rapids, Victoria Gardens, Clifton Hill (including a brief visit to Tim Hortons for a donut), the Secret Garden, and of course the American and Horseshoe Falls.

You’re Invited to Party in Niagara with DJ Absolute

Published
by
Graham
on July 10, 2008
in Niagara Falls Night Life
. 0 Comments

Yesterday (Wednesday) I received the latest newsletter from Cantina Charlies Niagara Falls:

To subscribe to the newsletter, fill out the form at the bottom of the Cantina Charlies Niagara Falls web site.

In Columbus’ India: ‘I Love Niagara’

Published
by
Graham
on July 10, 2008
in Niagara Falls News
. 0 Comments

From NDTV.com:

About a fortnight ago, an American friend of mine asked me a question: “Why do, so many Indians go to Niagara Falls?” I did not give any reply, as I thought he was just kidding.

This past week, after a visit to this one of the Seven Wonders of the World, I posed the same question to myself. Yet to find the answer! Though I have had the occasion to visit Niagara Falls more than half a dozen times in the past three years, it is only after my Friday’s visit I realized that Indians are simply fascinated by it.

Niagara Falls Getaway Packages including legendary concerts and new attractions!

Published
by
Graham
on July 10, 2008
in Niagara Falls Hotels
. 2 Comments

Yesterday (Wednesday), I received the latest newsletter from Niagara Falls Best Hotels:

To subscribe, fill out the form to join the Best Hotels Mailing List.

Niagara Falls markets itself to India’s tourists

Published
by
Graham
on July 10, 2008
in Niagara Falls News and Niagara Falls Tourism Industry
. 0 Comments

From the Buffalo News:

There are more than 1 billion people in India, and a leading Niagara tourism outfit wants to entice as many as possible to come to the American side of the falls.

In a first for the area’s tourism industry, the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp. has hired a travel marketing firm in Delhi to blanket India with TV and print advertising touting Niagara attractions.

“This is the first time Niagara has engaged an overseas marketing firm to aggressively sell the area in any one country,” John Percy, president and chief executive officer of Niagara Tourism, said Tuesday.

“India was chosen because of its importance as the largest emerging international market for tourism,” he added. “It is a dynamic and growing market.”