UK gov flaunts copyright on YouTube

Author: Wil Harris
Published: 31st August 2006
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UK gov flaunts copyright on YouTube

YouTube - perfect for Government information films?

The British Government has fallen foul of online copyright laws in an attempt to appeal to those checking out top video site YouTube.

The clips were designed to educate British citizens about public sector issues, such as leadership and transformational government. The clips were uploaded by the Central Office of Information, which is basically the marketing arm of the Government.

However, it turns out that the body didn't have the copyright to publish the clips online, and so it had to yank them back down again.

We'd suggest that such bland topics don't exactly gel with the young, hip YouTube vibe. I mean, would you rather watch a 6-minute public information film or awesome footage of Street Fighter 2? We'd suggest the latter.

(Incidentally, if you're looking for some cool stuff to check out on the video sharing service, take a gander here).

Did you manage to find the public service videos and check them out? Should the Government just avoid trying to be hip? Let us know your thoughts over in the forums.

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