VW seeks identity of Nazi-themed ad parody poster on YouTube
One mysterious home movie maker created a video that Volkswagen didn't like, and the German automaker isn't stopping at having the video pulled from YouTube. The home movie in question puts a Nazi spin on a recent VW Golf commercial, and VW has issued a subpoena in hopes of finding out the identity of the maker of the spoof. YouTube is fighting the subpoena with everything it has in an effort to protect its user base from future attacks, but in the end the courts will decide whether or not VW's copyright was infringed upon. Since YouTube is profiting from these videos, it seems like they're exposed to countless lawsuits, but VW is going after the video's creator.While this lawsuit is certainly a big deal, the bigger picture is that social networking sites are under attack, even though creators aren't cashing in on their work. We can see why VW is interested in having removed any video that links it to the Nazis (unless it's a documentary), it's hard to imagine the lawyers from Wolfsburg have much legal ground to stand on. Then again, we're not lawyers, and crazier things have happened in a court of law.
[Source: Wired]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Compy386 8:58AM (9/18/2007)
I'm surprised that Youtube pulled it. What happened to free speech and right to parody? Sad to see youtube sensoring their material already.
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djSyndrome 10:36AM (9/18/2007)
Because in Germany, pro-Nazi propaganda is illegal - parody or not.
simianspeedster 12:58PM (9/18/2007)
This is a common gripe/misconception.
"Free speech" doesn't apply to privately owned content networks. Like it or not, users don't have any right to free speech on YouTube or similar sites -- they only have the rights spelled out to them in the user agreement.
It's a corporate world; we consumers are just living in it.
-SimianSpeedster
Preston M 8:49AM (9/18/2007)
Ever tried to order replacement trim pieces? They are Nazi's
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Mike 8:48AM (9/18/2007)
"We can see why VW is interested in having removed any video that links it to the Nazis (unless it's a documentary)"
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Chris you f'ing jerk...laughing my butt off over here.
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Avinash machado 8:57AM (9/18/2007)
VW was in effect founded by the leader of Nazis Adolph Hitler.
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Galley 9:28AM (9/18/2007)
Yes, it's true. Hitler did one very good thing before he went batsh*t crazy.
Don 9:02PM (9/18/2007)
Yeah, he gave us the piece of shit Beetle.
zeroSignal 9:03AM (9/18/2007)
Can anyone find the ad in question?
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jim 9:07AM (9/18/2007)
Compy386: I haven't seen the parody, but likely YouTube pulled it because it violated some VW trademarks and copyrights.
The irony is that VW's trying to track down and likely sue the producer has them looking like corporate Nazis
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h8rain 9:16AM (9/18/2007)
Since YouTube, and NOT the maker of the video is profiting.....I would think logic would state they go after YouTube? Even if they do find the maker, this case will be dropped out of court in 10 seconds flat. Its no different that every comedy show making fun of another company or the president.
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Herb Bauer 9:32AM (9/18/2007)
Would it still be within the limits of free speech if someone posted a spoof commercial associating Jeeps or Hummers to My Lai in Vietnam or Abu Ghraib in Irak?
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Firley 10:14AM (9/18/2007)
Umm... yes. Why wouldn't it be?
Jared 10:20AM (9/18/2007)
OF course why not?
CJ 10:38AM (9/18/2007)
It could be slanderous, or it could be free speech. It depends on how its presented.
Jason 11:38AM (9/18/2007)
it wouldn't make any sense though... because the Jeep wasn't started by Vietnam, nor was the Humvee started by "Irak". In the context of the VW spoof, it would be more accurate to associate the Jeep with Roosevelt, and the Humvee with Carter and Reagan.
lintsniffer 5:41PM (9/18/2007)
This guy obviously failed to get us Americans to side with VW by making a parallel for us. The thing is, we don't care if someone says the Jeep is a Vietnam War atrocity machine because this is America, not Socialist Europe. Free speech means free speech, not free speech when not supporting Nazi, Hitler, or other "politically incorrect" topics. It's amazing that Europeans in Germany, France, and Britain can put up with this kind of censorship and tyranny.
Dirk 9:30AM (9/18/2007)
Their attitude towards this whole thing doesn't help their image. It only makes them look more like what people on YouTube perceive them to be.
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Mal Fuller 8:50PM (8/01/2008)
Why doesn't VW call in the Gestapo?
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Robin Rhyne 10:02AM (9/18/2007)
VW needs to be sure they themselves don't get all 3rd Reich in their quest to find the offender. "Political Correctness" is really fascism in another guise. "You WILL speak and act in the prescribed manner".
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