Cat video gets flagged on YouTube for copyright infringement of a song

A PET moggy called Phantom has caused a stir after its apparent cat-burglary of copyright protected material from two music giants.

Pascale. Jillian Miles, from Strathfield, exhibiting Cats. She's got 10, she's exhibitng 4 cats in this years Royal Easter Show. Pictured with some of her moggies at home.

A PET moggy called Phantom has caused a stir after its apparent cat-burglary of copyright protected material from two music giants.

The dispute arose after the cat’s owner posted an hour long audio-only video of their feline friend purring to YouTube under username Digihaven.

While sitting on the website since March 2014, the video was recently flagged by the sites Content ID system.

The automated program scans uploaded content and if the soundtrack matches to an existing song, the poster is issued a warning and no revenue can made from the post.

In this instance, Phantom’s purring was considered to be infringing a song called Focus — a track with copyright administered by music publisher EMI and collecting society PRS.

While the video wasn’t removed from the website, the uploader was no longer paid for views on the video.

Far from being viral, the revenues from the video would have been minimal, but this didn’t stop Digihaven filing a dispute.

The copyright claim was successful with EMI withdrawing its claim.

Despite the controversy, it would appear the uploader has managed to find humour in the situation.

“Phantom is currently independent, but looking to sign on with an indie label,” Digihaven told the Daily Mail.

“Phantom’s lawyer filed a complaint, looking for 10 lbs of catnip in damages.”