As one of the biggest online video websites YouTube has a growing copyright infringement problem. This is the reason why YouTube has a pretty powerful automatic takedown tool which detects and flags alleged copyright infringement and then sends videos to a receiving site where they’re processed. No humans are directly involved in this process. False takedowns are nothing new but the takedown tool crossed a whole different line recently when it flagged a video loop of a cat purring apparently because EMI Music Publishing and PRS owned a 12 second part of that loop.
In the copyright notice that was sent to the video uploader, Digihaven, it was stated that Content ID had flagged the video because it contained a musical composition called “Focus” the rights to which reside with EMI Music Publishing and PRS.
Digihaven tells TorrentFreak that while YouTube didn’t take down the video, which has been up on the website for nearly a full year, monetization was disabled so he could no longer make money off of people listening his cat, Phantom, purr.
The cat’s owner did file a dispute over the matter and EMI then lifted its claim on the video so it is no longer flagged.
One must stop and consider how the kitty’s feelings might have been hurt during all this, Digihaven jokes that “Phantom’s lawyer filed a complaint, looking for 10 lbs of catnip in damages.”