If it's so easy to abuse the DCMA, I'm curious why the 'unwashed masses' haven't been issuing DCMA takedown requests for all the official music industry music videos on YouTube. Wouldn't that quickly highlight how broken the model is?
No one would ever attempt to prosecute a corporation for perjury (the penalty specified by the DMCA) if it sends out a piddling few hundred fraudulent takedown notices. On the other hand, I wouldn't put it past them to throw the book at any individual they catch sending one. Individuals have neither the stamina for a long legal battle nor any means of plausible deniability ("The notices were automated!", "We don't know who sent it.", "The guy who sent it has been fired, problem solved.", etc.), and prosecutors like winning cases.
