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13 February 2015Copyright

Purr-lease! YouTube cat caught by copyright system

A purring cat has fallen foul of YouTube’s copyright management system, Content ID, after two parties claimed that they own the rights to the sound.

The dispute centres on an hour-long video uploaded to YouTube that features a 12-second loop of ‘Phantom’ the cat purring.

But the video, despite being uploaded last year, has now fallen foul of YouTube’s Content ID system.

The automated system detected the video of Phantom as violating a copyrighted music composition called Focus, the rights to which are administered by record company EMI Music Publishing and collecting society PRS for Music.

Content ID is designed to look for evidence of potential copyright infringement. According to YouTube, uploaded videos are scanned against a database of works that have been submitted by content owners.

When content in a video matches a work it has submitted to YouTube, the copyright owner gets to decide what happens, with options including the muting of a video or seeking to block it. By “claiming” the video in this way, EMI and PRS chose instead to monetise the video by running adverts against it.

In a message on the video, which is still live on YouTube, the video’s uploader, called Digihaven, said: “Large record companies might want to take videos like this down. Don’t let them—share, like and comment on this video.”

In a statement, Digihaven told news website TorrentFreak: “I’m sure EMI/PRS made Phantom a sad kitty.”

EMI has reportedly lifted its claim to the video. PRS did not respond to a request for comment.

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