Hello all. I am starting a video site for racing videos. I am wondering, what are the legal issues surrounding taking viral videos from other sites and posting them on my own site. I notice most sites out there all have the same videos so I figure downloading them and uploading them to your own site is OK? How do I know if I am not allowed to take videos from a particular site? Thanks for your help. Jordan
Yea I will be doing that. But I cant get all the videos I want from just youtube. I can embed metacafe videos too right? Any other sources that I can embed video from?
You should be very careful if you are posting/embedding copyrighted videos that are being distributed via YouTube etc. illegally. Depending on the copyright holders, they might go after your site as well as the site hosting the actual content, since you'll be guilty of "contributory infringement".
doesnt youtube allow you to embed their videos on your site? They provide you with the embed link right there on their site. EDIT: oh wait, i think i know what you mean. you mean videos that people post on youtube that THEY did not have the rights to do so to begin with. but even still, doesnt youtube verify each video before allowing it to go live on the site?
No. YouTube only resolves copyright issues after the copyright holder complains or the video is flagged enough times as a copyright violation. The fact that the video is available on Youtube does not mean that there isn't copyright issues involved and that the uploader did, in fact, have the right to upload the video. Just because Youtube allows you to embed the videos doesn't mean that it's a good/safe idea to do so. Even though the video is hosted on Youtube the copyright holder can still come after your site for copyright infringement (contributory copyright infringement), depending on the situation.
ok. i see your making a good point. but, not to cause an argument or anything, i cant see the copyright holder having much of a case against the person embeding the video. they cant expect everyone out there to know about, or think about, the legal issues involved before embeding a video. What about all the little kidies who dont know any better or those like myself who (until now) figured if youtube hosted it, its gotta be ok. they are making an honest mistake. in a situation like this the onus should be on youtube for hosting the video and allowing people to share them before verifying its copyrights. do they say anywhere on their site "embed at your own risK" or something along those lines?!.
Ignorance is no defense. Yes, I agree that they should bring it to people's attention, but if you can run a website you should know that you can be held responsible for the content you post/link to/promote on that website. Ultimately you as the website owner are totally responsible for everything related to your website. Youtube is largely protected under the DMCA, but they should definitely be doing much more to prevent copyright infringement. As for people embedding the videos, you should definitely be very careful doing this. Use common sense, if it's a video from a TV episode (even sports programs!) it's definitely not likely that the person who uploaded that video has the right to post it. So it would not be a good idea for you to embed and effectively contribute to the copyright violation. Just because Youtube allows you to embed videos it doesn't mean you should! Contributory infringement is becoming more and more of an issue with various cases being reported of copyright holders suing sites who link to/embed copyrighted materials. It's a question of who the copyright holder tracks down first and how aggressive . If they see their video posted on your site, it's likely they will come after your site, then they'll go after Youtube. If you aren't sure if someone is the copyright holder and has the rights to distribute something, don't embed it, unless of course you are willing to run the risk of getting caught up in copyright issues... "I didn't know" just won't cut it.
What if I make a clear note on the site by every video asking people that if they hold the copyrights to this video and do not want it posted to contact me and I will remove it promptly. Could this be effective in avoiding lawsuits by showing the will to cooperate with the copyright holders. I would not intentionally post a video that I know is copyrighted.
Although that will show goodwill, it won't provide you with any protection. If a copyright holder is out to protect their copyright, they will contact you regardless either by sending a C&D letter or filing a DMCA against you. In legal proceedings a disclaimer like that wouldn't offer any protection at all.
Ok. Thanks for all your help. I will definitely have to give more thought into the videos I plan on posting. One more question I have. Does living outside the U.S. protect me in any way from U.S. copyright owners?
No problem, glad I could help. Living outside the U.S. doesn't really protect your from U.S. copyright owners. It just makes it more difficult to pursue legal action (such as suing you) but with DMCA, they can have your site removed/blocked by your host, Google and other search engines and even removed from Adsense (or similar advertising networks), if they can prove that your site is grossly infringing their copyrights.
Youtube embedding is really cost effective if you have a shared hosting...its doesn really take the bandwidth from your server..
Another question Do they actually go after small websites that embed videos or do they just give a warning?? Instead of embedding a video[that is copyrighted] on youtube, would linking to it be ok?? How do sites like livevideo and uselessjunk even do what they do. They have the same videos and dont own the content to it.
Host your site in Hong Kong if you have any doubts on your content. I hosted one site there and got some complaints (nothing to do with videos though). The host emailed me and said they dont care about the DMCA and it doesnt apply to them, and I could continue doing what I like and they will just delete any further complaints. If anyone wants the host name, pm me.
Way to go Vic_mackey, you go tell the world how to try and avoid the law. You might host in Country A, B, or C but if you live in Country D, then you sure as hell will get done. and this crap that Hong Kong don't care, you need to keep up to date with what's going on with their recent consultation period on copyright infringement.
You wont get done if nobody can establish site ownership. And I never said break the law, there is a big difference with someone complaining about my site and me breaking the law. I never said Hong Kong dont care, I said that particular host don't care. They dont have your personal info so they couldnt share it even if they wanted to.
I know where your coming from Vic, the thing you need to know is that these people have money, it only takes a Court order to force the hosting Company to release the names of the person suspected of a criminal offence and they're done. No you never SAID break the law, you just provided a way for someone to do so, even inviting people to p.m you for details on the hosting company that doesn't care. What's the bet's that sooner or later that hosting company that doesn't care will get its come uppance.
It would be incredibly hard to get a Hong Kong court order, which is the only kind they would comply with. Only a major company would have the resources and finances to even attempt that. Nothing will happen to the hosting company, they arent doing anything wrong. They comply with their local laws, there is nothing to say they should comply to USA laws or any other countries. Also, they dont have your name to give away even if they wanted to. They dont know where you live, they know nothing about you. I wasnt doing anything illegal so I just paid them with my credit card, but if you want you can pay them using anonymous payments.