An Appeal from keeerrrrttt

If you've ever downloaded or viewed Oregon highlights on the web, you've probably enjoyed clips from Kurt Liedtke, keeerrrttt, who has had over 7 million hits on his youtube channel.  Recently he received notification from youtube that because of a formal copyright complaint from ESPN, youtube may shut down his channel at any time.

keeerrrttt has become an informal archivist and keeper of Duck history, and he makes a passionate appeal to the athletic department to consider carrying on his work.  "There's a huge market out there," he says, tremendous interest from Ducks all over the world, including fans, ex-players, the families of athletes, and members of the Duck faithful station in Iraq or Afghanistan.

There's something special about being able to retrieve video highlights from different eras of Duck football at the click of a mouse.  Curious move by ESPN, particularly when Kurt's channel has given new life to old ESPN highlights, and they've featured his videos on various shows.

In a digital age, permissions and copyrights are tricky business.  Here at The Duck Stops Here, I try to use other people's work in a way that celebrates its quality, and directs viewers back to the original source whenever possible.  I try to be painstakingly consistent about citing and attributing.  Kurt and Mike Wines do also.  If the University and big pockets news sources persist in being heavy-handed about controlling their brands and squashing the little guys, all they will do is choke off a rich source of knowledge, information and promotion.  We do what we do because we love the Ducks.  We're just baking a little tart  that entices people to cross the street.  They still own the big bakery on the corner.