Warner Bros.’ copyright claim forces YouTube to remove anti-Shell video
A campaigning video released by the environmentalist group Greenpeace, highlighting the partnership between Danish toy-maker Lego and oil company Shell, was removed after Warner Bros. complained it violated its copyright.
The video, entitled Everything is NOT awesome, is a parody of the song used in the Lego movie released earlier this year. It was taken down on Friday, July 11. Instead of the video, viewers were only able to see a notice that said the “video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by Warner Bros. Entertainment”.
Since being published on the video-sharing website on July 8, the video has generated almost four million views.
The song features similar lyrics to the original from the Lego movie, but sung in a melancholy tone, with oil slowly drowning various Lego characters. The video ends with the words “tell Lego to end its partnership with Shell” and asks viewers to sign the petition on legoblockshell.org.
Greenpeace later posted it on video sharing website Vimeo, but it was later taken down due to a similar notice from the film company.
Warner Bros. later withdrew the complaint and users are now able to watch it on YouTube. The video, however, is still unavailable to users of Vimeo.
James Turner, head of communications for Greenpeace International’s Arctic campaign, wrote on the group’s website that “these copyright claims just don’t stand up to scrutiny, and yet they’re being used to try to silence a video that is gaining real momentum online”.
“We think people have the right to know about a partnership ... Yet these corporate titans are doing everything they can to ensure that it’s hard to find this film online,” he said.
The Danish toymaker entered into a partnership with the oil company in 2011.
Jørgen Vig Knudstorp, chief executive of the Lego Group, defended the partnership on the company’s blog. He said: “A co-promotion contract like the one with Shell is one of many ways we are able to bring Lego bricks into the hands of more children ... The Greenpeace campaign focuses on how Shell operates in a specific part of the world. We firmly believe that this matter must be handled between Shell and Greenpeace.”
