Lady Gaga – Copyright Infringer?

Gaga has two online video accounts, an official outlet on VEVO and her YouTube account under the name “LadyGagaofficial.” A visit to the latter reveals a message from the YouTube powers-that-be stating, “This account has been suspended due to multiple or severe violations of YouTube’s Copyright Policy.”

Turns out YouTube has a copyright policy similar to those Three Strikes laws for violent criminal offenders. Gaga may not necessarily be a serial infringer, but the message indicates she might be a repeat offender.

So, what bad, bad, copyright-infringing thing did Gaga post to get her booted from YouTube? So far, no official reason has been given, but there is speculation that the suspension was over a video of one of her recent performances.

That’s right. YouTube might have suspended Lady Gaga’s account because she posted a video of herself. Furthermore, if the speculation turns out to be true, this particular Gaga episode could be considered yet another example of just how complicated copyright law can be.

The suspected video in question is a clip of Gaga performing on Fuji TV. If that’s correct, then the infringed-upon party wouldn’t be Gaga or her label, but a TV channel the singer appeared on.

There’s a wee bit of irony in all of this. Concert photographers have been complaining about Gaga’s current agreement they’re forced to sign stating all photos become the intellectual property of the singer. If YouTube yanked her account because one of her videos is actually the property of the TV channel she performed on, then it would appear a bit of her copyright karma just may have caught up with her.

The Associated Press says Gaga’s suspension is expected to be temporary, although YouTube nor its Google masters have yet to comment on the matter.