Copyright Infringement or YouTube Harassment? California Lawyer Succeeds (Temporarily) In Pulling Protest Video From YouTube

California lawyer Daniel Bornstein is controversial for his work on behalf of landlords and the use of eviction laws in San Francisco. It was not entirely unexpected therefore when protesters suddenly appeared at a 2014 seminar on eviction law. I have always opposed such protests that seek to prevent others from hearing the views of speakers or teachers. I can understand therefore why Bornstein was upset. However, he has been accused by an activist of taking the step of filing a copyright infringement claim with YouTube to get the company to pull a video of the incident below. It is not clear if the video below is the same video or whether some material has been removed from the original.

Bornstein filed a takedown demand under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and YouTube responded by immediately taking down the video. It later allowed the video to be re-posted.

I fail to see the good-faith claim of a copyright infringement and the move raises past concerns over the use of these laws to curtail free speech and bully critics. The target of the notice posted it on a website:

He notes that in filing such a notice, Bornstein had to state ““I have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.” Jackson, the poster, includes efforts to meet with the law firm and notes that the firm insisted that the original video be edited to remove copyrighted material.

I fail to see the good-faith reason for the notice if this is the video in question but perhaps our copyright experts can clarify:

Source: Arstechica