"It won't stop until people realize if they don't own the property or have the OK to use it they aren't allowed to use it."
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That right there is part of the problem. Once someone "copyrights" something, they get so hard up about it that if anyone even thinks of mentioning it, their first reaction is "OMG Lawsuit! Easy money coming my way!". They don't even stop to think about the free exposure their song/picture/video is getting.

There was this one artist whose music I used in a video. He wasn't well known or anything. I don't think he was even signed. He just did music and released it on his own. Anyway, he (somehow) found the video I used it in, and instead of instantly filing a copyright notice, he commented on the video liking it, and asked me to check out his other music.

THAT's how people need to be. He was getting free exposure (I even credited him in the description for the song), and I had something to use in my video. Did I have his permission originally? No. But the thousands of views the video got didn't hurt, and he knew that.

Don't get me wrong, I get WHY google does things they way they have to. The laws suck right now and make it too easy to yell out "law suit!", even if the person hasn't lost any money. The simple use of it is enough for someone to win money from you.

Copyright holders need to understand that when it comes to digital goods, they're never going to stop the spread of it. They're only giving themselves a bad name and hurting their own business by being hard up about it. They can either try to work WITH the technology, or against it. If they keep trying to work against, they're going to fail, and miserably.