When a video clip goes "viral," spreading across the Web at
lightning speed, it can help rocket its creators to stardom. Alas, the clip
can also generate work for corporate lawyers.
NBC Entertainment
.Chris Parnell, left, and Andy Samberg in the video
"Lazy Sunday."
As anyone with an Internet connection and a love of cupcakes can tell
you, "Lazy Sunday" is a tongue-in-cheek rap video starring Chris
Parnell and Andy Samberg of "Saturday Night Live." NBC first
broadcast the video, a two-and-a-half-minute paean to New York's Magnolia
Bakery, Google Maps and C. S. Lewis, on Dec. 17.
Fans immediately began putting copies of the video online. On one free
video-sharing site, YouTube,
it was watched a total of five million times . NBC soon made the video
available as a free download from the Apple iTunes Music Store.
Julie Supan, senior director of marketing for YouTube, said she contacted
NBC Universal about working out a deal to feature NBC clips, including
"Lazy Sunday," on the site. NBC Universal responded early this
month with a notice asking YouTube to remove about 500 clips of NBC material
from its site or face legal action under the Digital Millennium Copyright
Act. YouTube complied last week. "Lazy Sunday" is still available
for free viewing on NBC's Web site, and costs $1.99 on iTunes.
Julie Summersgill, a spokeswoman for NBC Universal, said the company
meant no ill will toward fan sites but wanted to protect its copyrights.
"We're taking a long and careful look at how to protect our
content," she said.
YouTube and others in the new wave of video-sharing sites have so far
managed to avoid major legal problems even though they often carry
copyrighted material without permission.
"This is an example of the copyright troubles that are waiting for
YouTube, Google Video and all the other video hosting services that rely on
user-posted content," said Fred von Lohmann, a lawyer at the Electronic
Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group.
Several online commentators noted that NBC's response to YouTube, while
legally justified, may have been short-sighted. The online popularity of
"Lazy Sunday" has been credited with reviving interest in
"Saturday Night Live" at a time when it is in need of some buzz.
Ms. Supan said VH1 and other television and movie producers were
increasingly putting their own clips, trailers and music videos on YouTube
in hopes of jump-starting their own viral phenomena.
"We got e-mails from college students, and a lot of them said it's
the 'Lazy
Sunday' clip that turned them on to potentially watching 'S.N.L.'
again," she said.
