In April 2009, the anti-gay-marriage group National Organization for Marriage ("NOM") sent a number of DMCA takedown notices to YouTube, demanding that it take down clips of leaked audition outtakes from NOM's "Gathering Storm" advocacy ad, which had been uncovered by the Human Rights Campaign and circulated widely online.  It looks like NOM also sent DMCA takedown notices based on user parodies of the outtakes and/or the ad (e.g.), although many videos of this type are still available on the site.  According to Wired's Threat Level blog, some YouTube users responded by "saving the videos with keepvid.com, and then uploading them back to YouTube when they’re pulled."

Mario Lavandeira, a.k.a. Perez Hilton, sent a DMCA takedown notice to YouTube, claiming that a clip of an advocacy ad entitled "No Offense" from the National Organization for Marriage ("NOM") violated his copyright. In response to Lavandeira's notice, YouTube removed the video.

According to NOM, the ad "highlights the efforts of same-sex marriage activists to silence and discredit pro-marriage advocates, calling them 'liars,' 'bigots,' and worse." The ad, which appears in 30-second and 60-second versions, uses approximately three seconds of footage from Mr. Lavandeira's video blog, in which he calls Miss California Carrie Prejean a “dumb bitch.”   

Mr. Lavandeira also sent a cease-and-desist letter to NOM, demanding that it stop broadcasting the ad on television. NOM's lawyers shot back a response letter refusing his demand on fair use grounds:

No permission was required and no permission was sought from Mr. Lavandeira for use of the approximately three second clip of the video he posted on the Internet of his unjustified and unprofessional diatribe against and personal attack on Carrie Prejean, Miss California, for her response to his question at the Miss USA Competition, April 19, 2009. NOM's use of this three second video clip is protected by 17 U.S.C. § 107 for the purpose of criticism, comment, news reporting, and education as it relates directly to NOM's exempt purpose. NOM's use is not a commercial use, but as an issue advocacy advertisement is protected by the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the fair use doctrine of the Copyright Act.

According to one press account, NOM's lawyers also sent a counter-notification to YouTube, requesting that the video be reinstated. 

On January 14, 2008, the Associated Press (AP) sued All Headline News (AHN), W. Jeffrey Brown, the owner of AHN, and Danielle George, a senior editor for AHN.  The AP claims that AHN is illegally copying and rewriting stories by AP reporters and distributing the stories to clients and displaying the stories on the AHN website.  The AP is seeking to restrain AHN from further distribution of AP material and to recover unspecified damages.

The AP is a not-for-profit membership corporation that describes itself as the oldest and largest news agency in the world, employing about 3,000 reporters, and distributing news content to thousands of radio and television stations, newspapers, and internet news portals.  AHN is a Florida-based company that describes itself as "a leading provider of news, weather, and other content for web sites, wireless, digital signage, interactive applications, broadcast and print use."  The AP's complaint alleges that AHN does not employ its own reporters, and instead instructs its writers to copy or rewrite breaking news stories found on the Internet. 

The AP's complaint specifically identifies six articles written by AP reporters, claiming that AHN "copied some or all of the expression contained within" the articles, and then transmitted the articles to AHN customers and displayed the articles on the AHN website.  The AP claims that these and similar practices have infringed their copyright "hundreds if not thousands of times."  The AP claims these practices also violated their quasi-property right in breaking news under the New York common law tort of hot news misappropriation.  The AP also alleges that AHN intentionally removed the AP's name from some news reports, constituting impermissible altering or removing of copyright management information under the DMCA.  AP's amended complaint also includes claims for trademark infringement, unfair competition in violation of the Lanham Act, unfair competition in violation of New York Common law, and breaches of contract. 

On February 17, 2009, Judge P. Kevin Castel, of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, granted AHN's motion to dismiss the trademark claim, finding that it lacked factual support.  Judge Castel also dismissed the claim of unfair competition under the Lanham Act, finding that AHN can legally claim that it maintains a "news division" even if they do no original reporting.  Judge Castel declined to dismiss the other claims, most notably finding that hot news misappropriation was a recognized cause of action under New York law. 

Update:

3/19/09 - The parties agreed to pursue private mediation.

6/15/09 - The court dismissed claims after the parties reached a settlement. According to a subsequent press release, AHN paid an unspecified sum to settle the case and "agreed that [it] would not make competitive use of content or expression from AP stories."  AHN also acknowledged that "there were many instances in which AHN improperly used AP's content without AP's consent" and that "the tort of 'hot news misappropriation' has been upheld by other courts and was ruled applicable in this case by U.S. District Court Judge P. Kevin Castel."