Nation of Islam - Copyright Claims and Intimidation on YouTube
Admin (Roger)
copyright claims for clips posted by YouTube users that are critical
of Louis Farrakhan and the Nation of Islam. Recently, a copyright
claim was filed on or about March 13, 2010 with YouTube for a well-
known clip that I had posted of Farrakhan implying that Obama is the
black Messiah. The clip also contained some critical text as a
preface that pointed out that the doctrine of Obama’s church is a
related Black Nationalist doctrine that is largely based on the
theology of the Nation of Islam.
Some basic tenets of the theology of the Nation of Islam are that the
white race is literally Satan and the black race is literally God.
The destruction of the white race is predicted for the imminent End
Times and will be led by the Black Messiah, which Farrakhan implied
publicly is Obama. America is seen as a demonic force of the white
race used to keep the rest of the World in oppression and is also
slated for destruction along with the traditional Christian church.
The complaint caused YouTube to disable my clip. YouTube allows the
user to file a counter notification that certifies the user has good
reason to believe the clip is not subject to copyright protection. I
filed the required 2-page long counter notification on March 14th and
am waiting for YouTube to re-instate the clip. The counter
notification also provides personal contact information that will be
provided to FCN, so that they can file suit, if desired, in the local
district court claiming a copyright violation.
The Fair Use Doctrine permits copyrighted material to be used under
certain conditions. More can be read about Fair Use law at this link:
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
This is an excerpt from the link:
###
Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the
reproduction of a particular work may be considered “fair use”, such
as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and
research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in
determining whether or not a particular use is fair:
1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is
of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
2. The nature of the copyrighted work
3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to
the copyrighted work as a whole
4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of,
the copyrighted work
###
The website points out that it is difficult to define exactly what
fair use is. However, YouTubers that are trying to expose the
connection of Obama’s church to racist and seditious doctrine of the
Nation of Islam are generally not trying to make money. Relatively
small segments of his speeches are used and it would not seem to
impact much the sales of the material. The nature of the material is,
as said, seditious and racist. So, it should be a no brainer that the
Fair Use doctrine would apply.
However, as everyone knows, an individual can be sued for just about
anything and the threat of being sued is, of course, intimidating.
With the Nation of Islam there is also a certain amount of physical
intimidation, since they have fanatical supporters and their own
paramilitary, called the Fruits of Islam with a presence in the
streets of many cities. The end result is that the Nation of Islam is
using legal and implied physical intimidation to suppress critical
discussion of the theology of their sect and the true relationship
between the Nation of Islam and Obama’s former church in Chicago,
Trinity United Church of Christ.