A Puzzling Takedown Notice

In my post on the Gates arrest I linked to a video clip of Anderson Cooper's interview with Leon Lashley. This has now been taken down by YouTube, presumably in response to (or anticipation of) a copyright infringement claim by CNN.

I find this behavior puzzling and appalling. Puzzling because the clip is not available anywhere, not even on CNN's own site where it could generate traffic and advertising revenue. Appalling because the clip has educational value, for reasons discussed in my earlier post.

Screen shots of the interview are available at YouTomb, along with the precise date and time of removal. In case you're wondering:

YouTomb is a research project of MIT Free Culture. The purpose of the project is to investigate what kind of videos are subject to takedown notices due to allegations of copyright infringement with particular emphasis on those for which the takedown may be mistaken.

I'd say this takedown was mistaken...