I don’t believe that I’ve commented on the DMCA here before. Mostly, my positions are already well covered in other places. However, Dave brought to my attention a case that is particularly interesting.

Basically, a law professor posted a clip from an NFL broadcast on YouTube. The NFL took steps to have it removed under the DMCA, but in the process may have ended up violating the DMCA.

This, I think, is pretty close to the ultimate irony. It’s also a great example of both how important copyright law is and how muddled it has become over the last 10 years, particularly with the DMCA. YouTube has been the target of a huge number of lawsuits. It will continue to be targeted so long as the situation with copyrights and the DMCA clears up.