IT’S ALREADY SECURED its status as one of the biggest viral hits of 2011, and even featured in the phenomenally popular TV series Glee – but Rebecca Black’s ‘Friday’ has been removed from YouTube over a copyright now.

YouTube visitors looking for the (in)famous video can no longer listen to the terrible-but-catchy ode to weekend life – because, the site says, of a copyright claim from the 13-year-old singer herself.

Entertainment news website TMZ.com reports that the dispute arises from the recent decision of the song’s producers, Ark Music Factory, to start charging users to view the video.

Users were asked to pay $2.99 for limited-time access to the video – a move opposed by Black and her family, who said Ark had been paid to write and record the song, but that they retained rights to Black’s image.

When the dispute was not resolved, lawyers for the Black family initiated legal action – and filed a takedown request with YouTube who obligingly removed the video from the public eye.

Unlucky punters who feel they may have missed out on the cultural phenomenon that is Black’s tune can still find it elsewhere online.

Black’s mother paid Ark Music Factory a flat, one-off $4,000 fee to write and produce the ‘Friday’ song for her daughter, and to secure ownership of the master copy.

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