The Unprofessionalism of Some United States Web Sites Continues to Astound

Much Internet content originating in America is very good, but there are always a few exceptions. These reflect poorly on the whole nation.

Recently I came across a site called Veoh. This describes itself in the following terms:

"Veoh is a revolutionary Internet TV service that gives viewers the power to easily discover, watch, and personalize their online viewing experience.

"Veoh is an open platform for content publishers of all sizes and sophistication who want to reach tomorrow's television audience. Currently more than 100,000 publishers - from forward-thinking, well-known entertainment brands to independent, made-for-the-Web producers - use Veoh to connect with an audience of more than 24 million engaged, influential viewers. In addition, Veoh's unique publisher optimization program gives publishers powerful tools to help them raise awareness of their content and cultivate loyal viewing audiences."

This seemed quite impressive. I accordingly thought that some of its users might enjoy a few of my fascinating original fractal images. Thus, as a pro bono act of kindness to strangers, I uploaded my video entitled "Mandelbrot Art 11" to the Veoh site.

To my complete astonishment, a mere few minutes later I received an e-mail referring to this video and reading as follows:

"Veoh has received a notice from a copyright holder or otherwise discovered that the videos listed below and posted through your account contain material alleged to infringe on copyrights held by another party."

The e-mail did not indicate who the unnamed complainant was. Apparently, such messages are sent out routinely and involve lies not based on any bona fide information.

I immediately replied in the following terms:

"The suggestion that I have infringed copyright in this video is quite absurd and I reject it utterly.

"The video contains 60 fractal images created by me on my own computer and not copied from anywhere else.

"I have been publishing books and articles for over 60 years and am thus very conscious of copyright issues. I now look forward to receiving an apology for this insulting allegation."

However, the pathetic scum running Veoh did not even have the courtesy to respond.

For those interested, Mandelbrot Art 11 can still be seen on YouTube.