Aussie teen to YouTube: You've been punk'd!

You may have heard it already: recently, YouTube received a signed notice that claimed to be from the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, demanding that the video-sharing hub pull all clips from an ABC Television program called The Chaser's War on Everything. So the Google-owned YouTube, probably still jittery from all the copyright pressure it's been getting from big names like Viacom, obliged. Most Chaser clips disappeared from YouTube, and users who had uploaded content from the show received scary warning letters that their accounts would be terminated if they didn't delete the videos.

Ouch.

But here's the catch: the cease-and-desist letter was a fake. It had been sent by a 15-year-old from the Australian city of Perth, according to Mashable. Another catch--the Australian Broadcasting Corporation actually likes having Chaser clips on YouTube, because the network considers it good promotional buzz.

Double ouch.

YouTube's recent copyright woes have been complicated ones. First, companies like NBC Universal and Viacom demanded that the site remove their copyrighted video content; Viacom's "request" was in the form of a nice, fat, billion-dollar lawsuit. But it got messy--Viacom was ultimately sued for pulling parodies of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report along with the program itself.

And now the Australian Broadcast Corporation isn't happy. According to a statement from the company, "What was of concern to us was the fact that YouTube was sending copyright infringement notices to people who have been uploading Chaser clips to YouTube, threatening to shut down their access to YouTube if they persist."

Looks like YouTube's turning out to be quite the headache for Google.