James Delahunty
22 May 2007 19:53
After being hit with a lawsuit from the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), The man who claims to have created "The Electric Slide" has agreed to call off his online video takedown campaign and to stop threatening people using the popular line dance for non-commercial purposes. The EFF filed a lawsuit against Richard Silver on behalf of videographer Kyle Machulis.
Silver sent a takedown demand to YouTube under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), requesting that a video uploaded by Machulis to the service be taken down. The video contained concert footage that included a ten-second segment of audience members attempting to do the Electric Slide. Silver claimed he owned the copyright to the Electric Slide and that the video infringed his rights and of course, the video was removed.
"Mr. Silver's misuse of the DMCA interfered with our client's free speech rights," said EFF Staff Attorney Corynne McSherry. "New technologies have opened multiple avenues for artists and their audiences to create, share and comment on new works. We cannot let absurd copyright claims squash this extraordinary growth."
Under the terms of the settlement, Silver will license the Electric Slide under a Creative Commons license -- allowing the performance, display, reproduction or distribution of any recorded performance of the dance in any medium for non-commercial purposes. Silver has agreed to post these terms on any of his current or future websites that mention the Electric Slide so that users are aware of the Creative Commons license.
Source:
Press Release