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Mit dem Urheberrecht Kritik unterdrücken

Hier mal wieder eine Geschichte aus der weiten Rubrik "Missbrauch des Urheberrechts". Der "Magier" Uri Geller geht gehen Kritiker vor, die versuchen nachzuweisen, dass seine paranormalen Fähigkeiten in Wirklichkeit aus Tricks und Täuschungen bestehen. Dass sie dazu Aufnahmen verwenden, die Uri Geller zeigen (und ihm möglicherweise gehören), liegt in der Natur der Sache. Genau aber das nützt Geller aus. Weil die grossen videohosting Sites wie Youtube kein Zeit haben, individuelle Anschuldigungen zu prüfen (aber von Gesetzes wegen verpflichtet sind, darauf zu reagieren), reicht eine Beschwerde oft schon aus, um ein Video löschen zu lassen.

For nearly as long as Geller has been bending spoons and moving compass needles with the wave of a hand, professional magicians have been loudly debunking his claims of psychic ability.

A new generation of critics led by 30-year-old Brian Sapient of an organization called the Rational Response Squad have taken their crusade online.

Sapient and others recently posted several video clips to YouTube demonstrating how Geller allegedly uses simple sleight of hand in his act. One slow-motion clip shows Geller quickly placing a small magnet on his left thumb before purporting to move the needle of a compass in front of a live television studio audience in Israel , where Geller was born. Another includes Geller's infamous "Tonight Show" flop, in which Johnny Carson exposed Geller by providing his own spoons and other props

In March, San Bruno-based YouTube Inc. took down many of the clips and suspended Sapient's account when Geller sent takedown notices claiming he owned the copyrights to the unflattering clips. That touched off an online tempest that has made Geller the subject of widespread derision and ridicule on several popular blogs like Boingboing.net.

"Uri Geller — the man who got rich 'bending spoons with his mind' — isn't just a con-artist, he's also a copyright abuser," wrote one of the tamer bloggers linked by Boingboing.

The video and Sapient's YouTube account were restored two weeks later after Sapient complained.

It also turned out that Geller owned no more than eight seconds of the 13 minutes of video, according to Geller's own court filings. But Geller is still suing Sapient in Philadelphia's federal court, accusing him of copyright infringement. Sapient says the clips are protected by the First Amendment laws, which allow "fair use" of copyrighted material.

"Put in its simplest terms, this case is about theft, not speech," read court documents filed last week on Geller's behalf.

Geller, who has become nearly as famous for his prolific litigation as for his alleged psychic abilities, knows his way around the court system. He unsuccessfully sued longtime nemesis James "Amazing" Randi at least three times for defamation, stemming from Randi's own efforts to unmask Geller as a fraud, and lost several other cases lodged against his critics throughout the years.

Geller, who lives in London, referred calls to his Philadelphia lawyer, Richard Winelander, who conceded that Geller probably didn't foresee the firestorm his lawsuit would inspire. "This thing has spun out of control," he said.
Quelle: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,288665,00.html

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