Copyright Infringement Claim by cigarobsession.com

[Admin]

I just wanted to share this with you guys here on StogieChat.    This guy/company put videos on YouTube for all to share and embed, but later claims copyright infringement against those who share the videos.   Several of the reviews here on SC had video LINKS to YOUTUBE videos (hosted entirely on Youtube).   YouTube has the share and the embed function on all the videos and the TOS for YouTube allows the use.

While its strange that someone would post videos publically to youtube and then get mad when they are shared, I decided to delete the video links.   I'm sure he probably sent a DMCA notice to Twitter and Facebook too for everyone who shared his videos. 

I really don't think the videos will be missed anyways. 
But if so, this is why they are gone:

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Subject: DMCA Notice
From:bryan@bgpictures.com
Date: Mon, 2 Mar 2015 11:12:53 -0500

<bryan@bgpictures.com>My name is Bryan Glynn and I am the Owner of CigarObsession.com.  A website that your company hosts (according to WHOIS information) is infringing on at least one copyright owned by my company.

Articles were copied onto your servers without permission. The original ARTICLES/PHOTOS to which we own the exclusive copyrights, and the unauthorized and infringing copies can be found at:

http://cigarobsession.com/2015/02/05/tos...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/toscan...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2015/01/30/roc...-review-2/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/rocky-...htly-aged/

http://cigarobsession.com/2012/11/13/la-...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/la-her...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2015/01/26/hea...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/headli...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2015/01/16/nat...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/nat-sh...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2015/01/17/oli...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/oliva-...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2012/08/24/don...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/don-di...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2012/11/17/la-...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/la-pal...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2012/06/29/joy...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/joya-d...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2015/01/03/new...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/new-wo...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2012/07/27/oli...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/oliva-...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2012/01/14/gur...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/gurkha...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2013/09/24/dan...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/dante-...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2013/09/24/dan...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/dante-...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2015/02/09/cul...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/cult-r...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2012/02/13/5-v...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/5-vega...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2015/02/11/agi...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/aging-...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2013/08/20/ere...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/erez-h...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2015/02/17/pri...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/primos...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2013/10/13/gur...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/gurkha...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2015/02/22/cru...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/crux-p...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2015/02/24/bmc...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/bmc-sw...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2015/02/26/per...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/perdom...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2013/12/11/fel...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/felipe...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2012/12/29/pad...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/padron...ar-review/

http://cigarobsession.com/2015/01/01/gun...ar-review/
http://www.stogiechat.com/reviews/gunsli...ar-review/



This letter is official notification under Section 512© of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act ( DMCA ), and I seek the removal of the aforementioned infringing material from your servers. I request that you immediately notify the infringer of this notice and inform them of their duty to remove the infringing material immediately, and notify them to cease any further posting of infringing material to your server in the future.

Please also be advised that law requires you, as a service provider, to remove or disable access to the infringing materials upon receiving this notice. Under US law a service provider, such as yourself, enjoys immunity from a copyright lawsuit provided that you act with deliberate speed to investigate and rectify ongoing copyright infringement. If service providers do not investigate and remove or disable the infringing material this immunity is lost. Therefore, in order for you to remain immune from a copyright infringement action you will need to investigate and ultimately remove or otherwise disable the infringing material from your servers with all due speed should the direct infringer, your client, not comply immediately.

I am providing this notice in good faith and with the reasonable belief that rights my company owns are being infringed. Under penalty of perjury I certify that the information contained in the notification is both true and accurate, and I have the authority to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright(s) involved.

Should you wish to discuss this with me please contact me directly.

Thank you.

/s/Bryan Glynn

Bryan Glynn - Photographer
BG Pictures
www.bgpictures.com
5318 Bob White Dr.
Holiday, FL 34690
727-946-1000 /bryan@bgpictures.com

===================================

Note that all the videos are hosted on YOUTUBE and not on StogieChat.  If they do not want their videos being shared on the Internet then they can simply delete them from their pubic YouTube account.   In addition, the same videos are shared on many platforms like Facebook, Twitter and other social networks without any such claims of copyright infringement.   One cannot offer general public "sharing and embed" of their video and claim copyright infringement.

[Tonto]

I just watched 7 seconds of one of his videos & that was 8 seconds too much.

Interesting....in this vid, link left cold, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRbavJpTYFE

He's possessing & smoking an illegal cigar. Hmmmm.....

[Teck1337]

I bet he isn't, nor has he, an authorized DMCA agent...

[Admin]

I guess this guy has no concept of what the SHARE or EMBED buttons do on YouTube. Every YouTube.com video offers that and by putting a video on their service you are putting out for the public to watch and share. Don't want it public then don't post it online with those functions! Maybe he smokes a different kind of cigar.....

[Jimmie the Mum]

I wonder how many letters he sent out?

[Admin]

Seems he is selling photos of trademarked logos and designs.
http://cigarobsession.com/cigar_art/

And I'm willing to bet that he does not have permission from General Cigar or the other manufacturers to sell their logo. All those cigar bands are trademarked logos as such a "symbol identifying the source of a commercial product".

Unlike a Coca Cola machine being in the background of a photo and claiming "good will" because its not the focus of the photographs, his photos are of trademarks and produced for profit. In this case he is not only the photographer, but also the publisher putting his own photo "into use" for profit.

If I was a prick....I would give my friends over at General Cigar a call and tell them their trademarks are being reproduced and sold. But obviously his business is so bad that he has to go around searching for folks sharing his youtube videos to have them removed from a cigar community of all places. lol!

[Tonto]

Seems he is selling photos of trademarked logos and designs.
http://cigarobsession.com/cigar_art/

And I'm willing to bet that he does not have permission from General Cigar or the other manufacturers to sell their logo.   All those cigar bands are trademarked logos as such a "symbol identifying the source of a commercial product".

Unlike a Coca Cola machine being in the background of a photo and claiming "good will" because its not the focus of the photographs, his photos are of trademarks and produced for profit.   In this case he is not only the photographer, but also the publisher putting his own photo "into use" for profit.

I know on Arfcom, they will actively go after anyone who uses their trademarked BFL (Bolt Faced Logo design) for profit.  They usually give anyone who finds someone doing it a years team membership. 

I'd think the cigar manufacturers would not like their own logos/symbols being used by someone else to make money.

[MaytagMan]

First off, let's be serious, this guy's videos are a joke at best. Next, his website is crap with a lot of junky ads for crap products.

So what brought about the note? Playing the Devil's Advocate, here might be where his problem(s) is/are. He see that he is getting some traffic so investigates and finds the sites on the SC domain. He sees that his video content is embedded and his site is not mentioned, etc. Could that be his issue? Don't know.

As for the whole copyright and youtube thing, there is a lot of information out there - I was curious and did some reading. Here is one article - a few years old but interesting nonetheless: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2007/07/yo...-copyright

Another article I read but lost the link to said that even though an embed link was provided, that content creator (owner of the copyright) still has can determine where the video is shared and ask for it to be taken down if used without permission.

As for his photography business, I don't think that the pics are necessarily infringement, but then again I am no lawyer by any stretch of the imagination. This photographer had a good article about the subject: http://www.danheller.com/biz-trademarks.html

So the question remains as to what to do. Well, since the guy's videos are crap, does SC want to be associated with them, and is it worth any kind of resistance to keep them?

Hmph...


I will be interested to hear what other info you guys come up with on the subject... it is interesting.

[Admin]

The youTube TOS states the following -

You also hereby grant each user of the Service a non-exclusive license to access your Content through the Service, and to use, reproduce, distribute, display and perform such Content as permitted through the functionality of the Service and under these Terms of Service.

Section 6C
https://www.youtube.com/t/terms
For clarity, you retain all of your ownership rights in your Content. However, by submitting Content to YouTube, you hereby grant YouTube a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the Content in connection with the Service and YouTube's (and its successors' and affiliates') business, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the Service (and derivative works thereof) in any media formats and through any media channels. You also hereby grant each user of the Service a non-exclusive license to access your Content through the Service, and to use, reproduce, distribute, display and perform such Content as permitted through the functionality of the Service and under these Terms of Service. The above licenses granted by you in video Content you submit to the Service terminate within a commercially reasonable time after you remove or delete your videos from the Service. You understand and agree, however, that YouTube may retain, but not display, distribute, or perform, server copies of your videos that have been removed or deleted. The above licenses granted by you in user comments you submit are perpetual and irrevocable.

[Parkster]

Guys a dick, his vids suck so I reckon he has no place in SC

In case he is reading this

You're a dick

Your vids suck

Fuck off