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Should We Sue Viacom?

2010-06-09 · letter vlog · Hank · 3:47 · watch on YouTube

Topic: Internet & YouTube (also: Nerdfighteria) · mode: News analysis · tags: timely hook, civic or action cta, community lore, song or performance

Hank reports that Viacom's Spike.com posted and monetized John's video about Viacom monetizing others' videos, calls this illegal practice something that should stop across Spike.com, and asks intellectual-property lawyers whether the brothers can sue.

What is said

The parts of the video and what is said in each (★ — how much it matters to the video).

00:00:00 — Welcome to newcomers; 'who the F is Hank?'; pointer to John's video

  • ★ Answering newcomers asking 'who the F is Hank?', Hank says Hank is an unincorporated community in Texas, an inside joke the brothers can't let go of. (joke) — 00:00:00 · Who the Eff Is Hank
  • ★★ Hank says yesterday was a big deal for the brothers, and possibly for Viacom, and points newcomers to John's video. — 00:00:00

00:00:29 — Recap: Viacom's suit, manual approval impossible at 24 hours a minute, Spike.com's claimed manual approval vs independent creators' videos

  • ★★★ Recapping, Hank says Viacom is suing YouTube for profiting from Viacom-owned content and wants YouTube to manually approve every uploaded video. — 00:00:29 · YouTube
  • ★★★ Manual approval is a problem, Hank says, because about 24 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. — 00:00:29 · YouTube
  • ★★ Hank thinks even Google's masterminds would struggle to keep YouTube solvent under manual approval. (playful, hedged) — 00:00:29 · Google, YouTube
  • ★★★ Viacom says Spike.com is manually approved, yet most of its viral-category videos belong to independent creators who never let Viacom run them with 30-second pre-rolls and ads. — 00:00:58

00:01:27 — Spike.com monetizes John's video; should we sue?; Spike.com is a bad website; taken down after 300 views, 60 cents; lawyers please email

  • ★★★ Spike.com has posted and monetized John's video about Viacom, so Viacom is monetizing a video about how it monetizes videos it does not own. — 00:01:27 · John Green
  • ★★ Hank asks intellectual property attorneys whether the brothers could sue Viacom, 'because it feels like we should'. — 00:01:27
  • ★★ After browsing Spike.com, Hank calls it a really bad website that appeals to his 14-year-old self: boobies, violence, butts and Mountain Dew. (playful) — 00:01:56
  • ★★★ John called: Viacom took his video down after 300 views, but had still made 60 cents from a video it didn't own. — 00:01:56 · John Green
  • ★★★ Hank says this is illegal and should stop, not just for their video but for all the copyrighted videos Viacom puts on Spike.com; he'd happily sue for 60 cents. — 00:01:56
  • ★★★ Lawyers who think they can do this and can give maybe 10 hours should email hankandjohn@gmail.com; Hank repeats the ask at the end. — 00:01:56

00:02:32 — Thanks to Reddit; YouTube's email alerts for new Vlogbrothers videos

  • ★★ Hank thanks those who featured John's video, especially the Reddit community, rare on the internet for being thoughtful, respectful and intelligent. — 00:02:32 · Reddit
  • ★★ Hank tells subscribers they can now have YouTube email them whenever a Vlogbrothers video goes up, but asks first viewers not to comment 'first'. — 00:02:32 · YouTube, Vlogbrothers

00:03:01 — Don't comment 'first'; Coulton-song lines for Viacom; sign-off; lawyers please email

In the description and comments

  • ★★ Hank's description says John had said in his last video he would sue Viacom if that video went up and was monetized on Spike.com, and it was. — video description · John Green

Humor (significant)

  • Newcomers from John's viral video are asking 'who the F is Hank?' — 00:00:00

    “Well, Hank is an unincorporated community in central Donnelly, Texas.”

  • Browsing Spike.com, Hank reverts to his 14-year-old self: boobies, violence, butts and Mountain Dew. — 00:01:56

    “Apparently some people got stuck at 14 and those people they love spike.com”

  • Hank closes with lines from Jonathan Coulton songs addressed to Viacom. — 00:03:01

    “all we want to do is eat your brains. We're not unreasonable. I mean, no one's going to eat your eyes.”

Threads in this video

Where the stories that moved here went next

Mentioned

Central: Spike.com · Viacom · Viacom International Inc. v. YouTube, Inc. · YouTube

Also: copyright · Google · Mountain Dew · Re: Your Brains · Still Alive · Who the Eff Is Hank

Only in the description or credits: Reddit

Also centred on Spike.com: YouTube vs. Viacom The Battle Explained · Viacom PWNED on Piracy

Also centred on Viacom: YouTube vs. Viacom The Battle Explained · Viacom PWNED on Piracy · Mmmm....PARTS

Also centred on Viacom International Inc. v. YouTube, Inc.: YouTube vs. Viacom The Battle Explained · Viacom PWNED on Piracy · GOOOOOOOL!!!!

Replies to

  • continues · Viacom PWNED on Piracy — “my brother John's video on why Viacom needs to not sue YouTube”

← Previous: Viacom PWNED on Piracy · Next → Mmmm....PARTS