A recent Seventh Circuit opinion illustrated that even the judiciary may sometimes be insensitive (or at least oblivious) to copyright infringement on the Internet. In Central Manufacturing, Inc., v. Brett, 2007 WL 1965673 (7th Cir. 2007), the court denied relief to a plaintiff alleging that George Brett and his company were infringing on a trademark. The court’s opinion includes a number of links to materials on the Internet. As part of the court’s discussion of the famous “pine tar” incident in 1983 involving Brett, Billy Martin, and the Yankees, the court notes that the “whole colorful episode is preserved, in all its glory, on YouTube” and links to a YouTube video. Ironically, that You Tube link now leads to a page displaying the warning “This video no longer available due to a copyright claim by MLB Advanced Media.”
