If someone uploads a video (like a webcam of themself) on Youtube, is it legal to copy that video and upload it on my own youtube name? and what if I decide to edit it?
No, it is not legal in the US or most other countries in the world. Just because a person chooses to have their work put in a public forum does not mean they have given up their copyright to it. Unless they explicitly say it is okay to do, then it is not. With YouTube videos, you could embed the video on the page of another site, but to download and then reupload it would be seen as you trying to claim that the video was yours. Editting the video gives no protection either. This would be a derivitave work. The right to make derivitave works is held by the actual copyright holder.
Yes, this is not legal, and when you do upload a video, it will say the TERMS OF SERVICE. You can read there, that if it IS NOT your video, or you don't have legal rights to it, you can't re-publish it!
Hi, I wouldn't try to pretend that the video was mine. I would put a caption on there saying who's video it is. And don't they have to claim damages? If it's a free video, then I haven't damaged them financially.
http://www.youtube.com/t/terms Scroll to 4. General Use of the Website -- Permissions and Restrictions That will be a breach of youtube TOS.
thanks for the link So from scanning the TOS, I think it would be okay if I got permission from the user to re-post their stuff. And interesting that youtube gets the rights to re-produce the videos as derivative work.
They only get that right because you agree to it when you agree to the ToS. If that line wasn't in there, then they wouldn't have that right. They claim some of those rights for specific reasons. For example, the right to reproduce helps to cover the use of the embeddable player. The right to create derivative works is probably so they can use videos in commercials and other promotional materials.