Olympic Committee Outraged About USA Fans Watching Live Online, Sends Takedown Notices

Peter Kafka | August 10, 2008 9:46 AM

On Friday morning, we published a post that included an embedded video player that linked to live coverage of the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony. On Saturday afternoon, we received what appears to be an auto-generated takedown notice from the International Olympic Committee, which is apparently using UK-based monitoring service Friend MTS to help it scour the Web.

To the best of our knowledge, the source of the video stream -- ItsGameTime.tv -- hasn't been providing Olympics coverage since Friday afternoon; the embedded video player we had originally published has displayed a blank screen since then. Nevertheless, we've taken down the entire embed pending further legal review. Legal notice follows:

Dear Sir/Madam,
I am writing to you on behalf of the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

During the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the IOC is conducting an internet monitoring programme, focused on protecting broadcast rights-holders? exclusive rights in moving images of such Games.

Through its monitoring system, the IOC has become aware that on your website, there is video from the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, found through following URL(s)/Channel(s):

URL:http://www.alleyinsider.com/2008/8/olympics-beach-volleyball-basketball-weight
Title: Various
Date seen: 09/08/08

Please note that the IOC owns and controls all rights in relation to moving images of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. Olympic material may not be transmitted or communicated via the Internet or any other interactive media or electronic medium without the express prior written approval of the IOC, which has not been granted to you in the present case. Moreover, your unauthorised display of video over the Internet causes prejudice to the exclusive rights holders who have received the authorisation from the IOC to do so. The IOC has good faith belief that your use of moving images of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games is not authorised by the law. The availability of moving images related to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games on your website is therefore a clear violation of the IOC?s rights.

Therefore, in view of the above, the IOC requests that you immediately and permanently remove all moving images of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games from your website.

The IOC hereby states, under penalty of perjury, that the information in this notice is accurate.

The IOC reserves all rights and remedies it deems necessary in relation to this matter, including seeking injunctive relief, costs and damages, including punitive damages, where appropriate.

Please confirm immediately, to the following e-mail address infringements@friendmediatech.net or to the following fax number +86.10 6512 8830 that you have complied with the above.

Yours faithfully,

Howard Stupp
Director of Legal Affairs

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17 Comments

MikeM (URL) said:

Aug. 10, 10:46 AM

Much more reasonable than the RIAA.

Roger said:

Aug. 10, 11:22 AM

This is retarded and totally at odds with the spirit of the Olympics. One can understand the legalese of rights which are sold for a packet but imagery and short videos clips can be considered fair use and even better is free marketing for the organizers.

They should encourage it rather than clamp down indiscriminately. This is not a site that is pirating the signals. Having it discussed widely with imagery and videos on the internet is a good thing. It creates buzz and involvement.

The world has moved on, but it seems the IOC is stuck in the past. They clearly haven't planned this thing with new realities of the internet and seem stuck in the 80-90's with regards to rights. The language is commercial and exclusivist and makes IOC and the Olympics look like a petty profiteering operation rather than a global movement that we can all feel a part of.

hehateme said:

Aug. 10, 11:39 AM

SAI is stupid for posting the damn links. SAI is not the pirate bay. the pirate bay has bigger balls. If SAI had not open it's big mouth. 99.99% of those posted links would still work! Great job A-holes.

Peter Kafka (URL) said:

Aug. 10, 12:24 PM

Wrong on this one, hehateme. The links are widely available throughout the Web, which means that the IOC/broadcasters/monitoring services that want to find them can easily do so without our help. All we're doing is providing a service to Web users who don't want to spend time hunting and pecking themselves.

hehateme said:

Aug. 10, 1:01 PM

@pKAFKA: So SAI will be posting THE DARK KNIGHT LINKS too? The next time SAI posts a story on Time Warner could you guys include a link to Entourage.I would love to here SAI explain it's copyright violations to a judge; "EVERYBODY WAS DOING IT,SIR".

Jon said:

Aug. 10, 7:43 PM

@hehateme: if you want to be offensive, go elsewhere.

@Roger: the "spirit of the Olympics" has been a myth for years, unfortunately. There aren't many international monsters that stump up enough cash - roaming from one international city to the next - to persuade officials to clear the ugly poor from the streets, arrange compulsory purchase orders to demolish houses, enforce authoritarian legislation around affected areas, gentrify housing provision...

Read this, from George Monbiot.

noblow said:

Aug. 11, 1:06 AM

Never understood why SAI cared about "people watching Olympics online" anyway. Yes, it's media. Yes, we're seeing another rights holder (IOC) trying to channel their rights. But honestly - WHO CARES? WHAT DOES THIS HAVE TO DO WITH SAI?

If there's nothing else to post than links to pirated stuff, you should re-consider your site topic.

Just my $0.02

Garbanzo said:

Aug. 11, 10:18 AM

@noblow: Why? Economics, of course.

SAI cares because they got a massive Google traffic boost from those posts. Google "beijing olympics live" and see what I mean. So, Peter, how many pageviews have you gotten from the Olympics posts since Friday AM and how does that compare to normal posts? I have a site that posted something similar and appeared well below SAI on Google and it was like someone turned on a "traffic fire hose."

Peter Kafka (URL) said:

Aug. 11, 11:03 AM

Yes, people are definitely interested in the topic. Then again, there are all sorts of things that people search for on Google, and we don't cover all of them. This one's worth our time because it's a story about the intersection of old media and new technology, which is what we write about every day.

José Antonio Guedes da Silva said:

Aug. 16, 12:32 PM

The brazilian people do not accept this stupid COIs´decision and, because this, all Beijing Games Opening 2008 are runing in the intert like pirates with fakes titles, and the brazilian people is changing DVDs images with many people around the world. This type of idiot censure from the "COI Stone Age" isn´t accepted in Brazil, because videos in You Tube are only 10 minutes, against 4 hours of the Opening Beijin Olympiad. It wasn´t necessary this lamentable COI decision trying stop the world-wide internet free movement.

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