[Discussion] Copyrights & Infringements

Sabre0001

Let's talk about the ins-and-outs, the ups-and-downs of copyright. What are the legalities (going to hand over to Prof. DooM for that one ), have you had any dealings (videos stolen from you / disputed by others), music and so on...

For me, YT seems like a funny old business. When it was operated by a couple of talented and ambitious people, there were slaps on the wrists thrown and videos were requested to be taken down. Once Google took over, BAM - lawsuits. Means that people have to be much more careful now.

I will admit, I have been a little on the grey side when it comes to videos. When I have done short clips - i.e. intros for tournament footage, there may be two samples thrown together from songs (and credited). Did a tutorial video before that is unavailable in Germany because it contains a copywritten track. Tsk tsk.

How much of a grey area does gaming footage fall into? Some are profiting from showing someone else's work afterall...

And to avoid music copyright, what are the best sites to use? Doesn't Creative Commons mean that it available for use...

Doctor DooM

I AM NOT A LAWYER. If you want to pursue anything I mention here, talk to a real one.

First of all:

If any of the fine people want to use any of my music I will give it out for free. the reason being I put my money where my mouth is.

It might not be suitable for your vids, but it's some generic rock that's royalty free.

The most important thing to remember about putting up video game footage is that it virtually always, always, remains under the strict control of the video game company who created it and under the DMCA (Digital Milennia Copyright Act) youtube WILL pull it at their behest.

This copyright act allows Youtube to remain unsued if they respond to a copyright claim but also ensures they inform you who is making the claim.

This sounds bad, however it is rare for a clever video game company to do this unless you are revealing either a) Secrets from unreleased games or b) Long plays of recent games where you may impact sales.

With slightly older games, and especially competitive games, they may actually even encourage you to put your stuff out there, as it keeps the scene and hype alive for their series.

There's a clause to this though which is fair use. Fair use states roughly that if you use copyrighted material in a transformative way it is a new piece and does not fall under the original copyright. Parody is included in this also- thus, Weird Al doesn't need to ask for the original songwriters permission (he always does though as he is not a dick).

IF you want to go down fair use route, there's a couple of things you need to do:

1) do not use long, continuous streams of footage

2) use commentary or speech to enhance and change the audio of the video and change it's purpose from raw footage of a game to a commentary or tutorial.

Even with this, the companies will still be able to DMCA you. Then it'll be up to you to use Youtubes dispute resolution proceedure to prove your point.

From my experience, you will still be up against it. However one thing to note: False DMCAing, especially if you're pretending you're not, is a felony in the states. I have seen it pursued before, so if someone is treating you unfairly, it may actually be interesting to see where it leads.


I'll just leave this info here.

TheChrisD

Doctor DooM wrote: »

It's the in game music they claimed for, which a) is so low it's virtually unhearable and b) I might have some claim against under fair use as it's being constantly talked over.

You might have some problems with that though. I remember my Let's Play of Borderlands where despite the fact it did have my commentary the whole way through the intro, it got tagged by Sony WMG. Nothing much I can really do to claim it since it really is their music in the background, despite any claims of fair use.

I did manage to get it temporarily removed, however that was because at the time it was also tagged by "Sanoma NL" who have a paid-for partnered YouTube channel specialising in video game footage and I must've got hit by the Content ID because of one of their videos of Borderlands as well. Unfortunately, YouTube's system didn't allow you to pick and choose what you counter-claim against, it's claim against all or don't claim.

Not sure if there's really anything you'd want to do to it, as long as it's still just down as having matched Content ID, and it hasn't been a full-blow takedown, you're safe and haven't got a copyright strike yet. Sure it's not like it's really affecting the video, if anything you have ads or it's blocked in a couple of countries.

Doctor DooM

TheChrisD wrote: »

You might have some problems with that though. I remember my Let's Play of Borderlands where despite the fact it did have my commentary the whole way through the intro, it got tagged by Sony WMG. Nothing much I can really do to claim it since it really is their music in the background, despite any claims of fair use.

The only issue I really have is it's not Capcom but this "Independent Distribution On Line" company who are claiming it.

If they're some spurious company doing it for whatever reason, I am not down with that, it's illegal and it's the kind of thing which makes youtube a much less fun place these days. If they're acting with the say so of Capcom, which I doubt as Capcom are known for leaving yt content providers alone outside of one particular incident, then I have no problem with them.

TheChrisD

Doctor DooM wrote: »

The only issue I really have is it's not Capcom but this "Independent Distribution On Line" company who are claiming it.

By that logic I should argue that I should have an issue that it's Sony WMG claiming my video and not Gearbox Software.

Doctor DooM wrote: »

If they're some spurious company doing it for whatever reason, I am not down with that, it's illegal and it's the kind of thing which makes youtube a much less fun place these days. If they're acting with the say so of Capcom, which I doubt as Capcom are known for leaving yt content providers alone outside of one particular incident, then I have no problem with them.

Checking Google, I see read as a comment on the Huffington Post: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/melakfilms2010/google-youtube-copyright-school_n_849367_85461441.html

Check your actual video page, and who or what is listed as the artist there (if any)? Upon checking that, does that channel page seem to show music that has been used in-game? If so, then there unfortunately really isn't much of a leg to stand on, regardless of minuscule volume, YouTube's Content ID system is good, and does pick it up.

Doctor DooM

TheChrisD wrote: »

By that logic I should argue that I should have an issue that it's Sony WMG claiming my video and not Gearbox Software.


Check your actual video page, and who or what is listed as the artist there (if any)? Upon checking that, does that channel page seem to show music that has been used in-game? If so, then there unfortunately really isn't much of a leg to stand on, regardless of minuscule volume, YouTube's Content ID system is good, and does pick it up.

Well that would depend- do sony have a legitimate claim to the music? Are they working on behalf of the owner of the music?


Because if they don't, then yes, they HAVE commited a felony under American law. Misrepresenting yourself while DMCAing is a felony.

Tallon

Everytime I put up a montage with music, YT said I was violating their TOS and I removed them...

These days, they stick ads beside them, link to the iTunes download and also pay me per view....

The video game industry is a tricky grey area because of the amount of uploads.

They get more upset from you uploading video footage from a gig or similar than using a few lines in one of your videos

TheChrisD

Doctor DooM wrote: »

Well that would depend- do sony have a legitimate claim to the music? Are they working on behalf of the owner of the music?

In my case, yes they do, because they do work on behalf of the band who created the music and publish then. So in this case, it may be possible that IDOL work with the band that made the music that is used in-game. What video is it that they have claimed?

Tallon wrote: »

These days, they stick ads beside them, link to the iTunes download and also pay me per view....

I wasn't aware that they paid YOU for the views, I thought the money went to the entity that claimed your video so that it can be delivered to the band that made the music as royalties?

Tallon

TheChrisD wrote: »

In my case, yes they do, because they do work on behalf of the band who created the music and publish then. So in this case, it may be possible that IDOL work with the band that made the music that is used in-game. What video is it that they have claimed?



I wasn't aware that they paid YOU for the views, I thought the money went to the entity that claimed your video so that it can be delivered to the band that made the music as royalties?

Nope, they partner the 'video' if it's doing well, and pay me into my Google Adsense

TheChrisD

OK, it wasn't clear than you meant the IVP, I thought you were just stating about how before YT would just axe the video as the first whiff of copyright issues; now they give the entity involved the opportunity to earn money off of the stuff people put up by forcing ads on them.