Cornices Centre Goes For The Streisand Effect Multiplier Over ‘Near Miss’ Bike Video

Earlier this year, we discussed a frustrating story regarding one company in the UK, Cornices Centre, threatening a cyclist over a YouTube video showing what purports to be a near miss by a truck with the company's name and logo on it. Those threats centered on a very confused understanding of trademark law, such that the company thought it could demand the YouTube video be taken down by claiming that the appearance of the branding in the video somehow equates to trademark infringement. That obviously is not how trademark law works and the company eventually rescinded that threat for the time being. I concluded that post with the following:

And that isn't the only Streisand vector by which this story is getting much more attention than its initial 400 views. Legal commentators are doing their own videos and posts on the subject, including this one. What was a couple of hundred views of an incident has instead turned into thousands and thousands of views, as well as potential legal action against the company from the cyclist.

It's probably time to get that apology out post-haste, Cornices Centre!

Cornices Centre did not take my advice. Instead, the company has apparently decided to go for some kind of Streisand Effect multiplier by now going after some of those legal commentators speaking on the story that I mentioned above.

Daniel ShenSmith, who posts legal advice on hisBlackBeltBarrister YouTube channel(link is external), says the company has made veiled threats" concerning his conduct as a barrister in a letter, and called on the lawyer to remove a video in which he criticised the motorist's driving and the company's ridiculous" claim that the cyclist's close pass clip breached trademark infringement.

In avideo posted on his YouTube channel this weekend(link is external), ShenSmith also revealed that the company has threatened him over his response to their initial complaint, calling on him to remove the video in which he criticises both the driver's actions and the firm's trademark infringement claim, a move he describes as out of order" and designed to quell public criticism of the company.

That design is not going to work. Just as with the initial attempt to bury criticism against the company by threatening the cyclist, which ballooned what was a 400-view video into one with tens of thousands of views, all this bullying behavior does is keep the negative news about the company circulating. Now the barrister is commenting on the situation more. Other news outlets, such as us, are talking about this more. All this is doing is pushing the story about the company's actions, and the driver in the video, further into circulation.

And, frankly, engaging in all of this behavior and directing it to a lawyer is probably not the best of plans.

I'm not going to take the video down, because there is no legal basis at all that would require me to take it down. My video was of public interest, because it was a driver driving badly, who was caught by a cyclist, and ultimately prosecuted. I was giving my opinion on the driving in the video as a barrister and it turns out I was right, as he was prosecuted.

Facts are facts, the roads are safer, and the general public are now more informed and less likely to be bullied."

For the love of god, Cornices Centre, stop digging! You're already in a hole!