Ergun Caner has youtube videos removed for violating copyright

Ergun Caner has hired someone at the Gibbs Firm to challenge youtube videos for copyright violations.  Thirty-four of my videos were challenged and less than ten of my videos critical of Ergun were left.

Gibbs included in the challenge one of the videos that was obtained by Jason Smathers from Marine Corp Air Station New River.  Given my limited understanding of copyright law and the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), I do not believe that you can legally claim copyright on a video that was obtained by FOIA.

Who is David Gibbs III?

Attorney David C. Gibbs III is the President and General Counsel of the National Center for Life and Liberty, a ministry organization that defends life and liberty freedoms nationwide. Mr. Gibbs speaks regularly to audiences in churches and conferences while also litigating cases as a trial attorney. He hosts the weekly radio program Law Talk Live on the Moody Radio Network and has authored five books including Fighting for Dear Life and Understanding the Constitution.

Attorney Gibbs graduated from Duke Law School and manages the Gibbs Law Firm with offices in Dallas, Texas; St. Petersburg, Florida; and Washington, D.C. He is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court and numerous federal circuit and district courts nationwide. He has also been admitted to the State Bars of Florida, Minnesota, Colorado, North Dakota, Ohio, Texas, Tennessee, Michigan, and the District of Columbia.

Attorney Gibbs was the lead attorney in the Terri Schiavo case representing the parents as they fought to save the life of their daughter. This case went before the United States Supreme Court twice in ten days. Mr. Gibbs is a frequent spokesperson on radio and television having appeared on many major news and talk programs .

Attorney Gibbs believes: “If it’s wrong, fight it. If it’s right, fight for it.” His life verse is Matthew 25:40, where Jesus said, “Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

The return email to a Dgaines, so the person actually making challenges on youtube is probably an employee at Gibbs' law firm.

I invite you all to watch this lecture that Ergun and David do not want you to see. If you click on the video, on the viddler site there is a download link where you can obtain the flash file and distribute it.



Update: The embedded video went dead for some reason.  Jason Smathers has recently uploaded it also to YouTube.
 

Update: Ergun ended up suing both Jason and I for the video above as Count I against me and Count III against Jason.  Jason was also sued for another Marine lecture, "Ergun Caner at the Base Theater", as Count IV.  Of the thirty-four videos that Ergun challenged, only two were unedited.  The other thirty-two were clear edited fair use criticisms.  They were similar, but with better sourcing, to the videos that Peter Lumpkins had made about Al Mohler, Mark Driscol, JD Hall and James White.

Before my channel was taken down, I ended up only challenging one other video in addition to Count I.  Count II was a video, a little over a minute long, entitled, "Ergun Caner educated in Cairo, Egypt".  Count II was ultimately dismissed, because Ergun intentionally never attempted to register the copyright. Ergun boasted that the suit was about "unedited videos" when 88% of the videos he challenged on youtube were edited fair use criticisms.  25% of the total videos he filed suit over and 50% of the videos he filed suit against me in particular were not unedited. 

Youtube has restored my channel, but given the struggles of the Caner family, I have removed most of my content about Ergun.  However, Ergun's lawsuit, though a copyright suit, was ultimately a civil rights issue.  He attacked the principles of "fair use" in the First Amendment and the principles behind Freedom of Information Act.  Therefore both Count I and Count II will remain online, but please think twice before sharing.