FITZROY CROSSING, WA – A West Kimberley YouTube channel with 3,380 subscribers has issued a copyright takedown request against Indigenous-owned media platform Gammon News, claiming ownership over 15 seconds of footage depicting the 2023 Fitzroy River floods – a natural disaster that inundated several remote Aboriginal communities and peaked at a record 15.81 metres.
The channel Positive Fishing, operated by a self-described “Positive Karen” and her partner Johnno, filed the claim through YouTube’s content management system. The footage in question was one of several clips compiled from multiple creators. None of the other creators appear to have issued similar complaints.
“We take intellectual property extremely seriously” said a spokesperson for the Reasonable Content Ownership Tribunal. “If a water molecule moved past a camera while that camera happened to be held by someone with a Hotmail address frankly that water belongs to them now. These are the rules we live by.”
Legal observers note the claim raises novel questions about who owns a river. Particularly one flowing through Country that has belonged to Bunuba, Nyikina, Walmajarri and Gooniyandi people for tens of thousands of years.
The email address used to lodge the complaint – dolphindefenders@hotmail.com – was reportedly set up during the Howard era and has not been updated since. YouTube has confirmed the takedown will proceed within seven days pending no intervention from Martuwarra herself.
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