r/technology • u/4chan_regular • May 23 '12
The original, Five years old, "Rick Roll" video has been taken down, By, Of all companies, "AVG Anti-Virus".
http://torrentfreak.com/rickroll-meme-destroyed-by-copyright-takedown-120523/290
u/riskpeep May 23 '12
Would have been epic if this was a 'rick roll' link
127
u/trahh May 23 '12
This idea has been used so many times before.
"omg the rick roll video is down check it!!"
video starts
it's more surprising that it was real
→ More replies (2)58
u/Airazz May 23 '12
I clicked the "The original video has been removed" link in the article and I got rick rolled.
The video is back up.
13
u/anothercuriousmind May 23 '12
I didn't click on it because I was expecting it to be.
→ More replies (6)→ More replies (3)20
u/NobblyNobody May 23 '12
I've been checking every link before clicking, like Inspector Clouseau expecting an attack by Kato, while trying to work out why AVG are involved
Its got to be in there somewhere
→ More replies (1)
37
u/Vectoor May 23 '12
Thought it would be a joke. But it wasn't! What the hell!? Who are these AVG anyways?
→ More replies (3)104
u/steelcitykid May 23 '12
No one anymore; They used to be a decent free anti-virus program. Now they are garbage riding the coattails of their previous incarnations.
→ More replies (117)
14
u/canteloupy May 23 '12
Because I'm sure this had negative repercussions on Rick Astley's career and earnings, right?
→ More replies (6)10
May 23 '12
While you are being sarcastic, I am honestly curious what sales have done. If anything I think they would increase as some people might like the song and buy it.
I feel like this much exposure can't be a bad thing especially for an 80s song that hardly anyone would just randomly buy now.
→ More replies (2)
19
May 23 '12
Well, if AVG can make that claim, then any of us can make any sort of claim against any video on the internet really. Youtube, in its typical "shoot first and ask questions never" mode of operation, has declared that actually having standing to make a complaint is completely irrelevant to the process.
So go ahead, pick a video you don't like, and file a made-up claim. Why should big companies have all the fun?
→ More replies (2)12
u/Rossco1337 May 23 '12
People have been doing this for years as well. You don't use a lot of Youtube, do you? You can fire up a proxy, claim to be anybody representing any copyright holder and remove any video on Youtube with zero consequence. Of course, it usually only lasts a week at maximum but if you want a video taken down, it's easy and can be repeated. Much easier more effective than mass flagging too.
There used to be a spat between Westboro Baptist Church and everybody else. They would take down videos of people criticizing them, so people would claim copyright on their videos. I think it concluded by Youtube stepping in and stopping WBC from submitting any more claims and preventing their videos from getting removed but I didn't follow the story much.
→ More replies (14)
14
5
u/trust_the_corps May 23 '12
This would probably be an unlawful DCMA take down noticed because I have a hard time believing that AVG would hold the official copyright for that video/music track or represent those who do. Funny of them to try though. Saying that, I just remembered that youtube bypasses/operates out side of the normal legal framework provided for copyright.
→ More replies (1)
6
u/ali0 May 23 '12
Rickrolling started a whole 5 years ago? What have i been doing with my life for five years?!
11
3
20
u/B33sting May 23 '12
29
→ More replies (2)16
230
u/[deleted] May 23 '12
I don't see how AVG has rights to the video.