Hi, if you search on youtube for your favorite show, chances are that some clips of it will come up. In fact, some shows are cut up into 3 or 4 parts, so that you can watch the entire show. I do thgis for my favorite show; every Tuesday, I log on to youtube, and watch my 1 hour show. Pros: it is much faster Cons: quality There are hundreds of results for the specific show I watch, so lots of poepl are posting it. The show is brodacsted on GSN, witch is a cable channel, not a regular channel. My question is; Is it legal for me to record shows onto my computer (via tv tuner card) and then add my URL to the video? This would potentially generate some serious traffic, however I would not want to do this if it is illegal. I am more concerned with the legalities concerning the TV. network, not YOutube. Thanks for the help.
Actually it is legal [in the US] to make a copy for your own personal use...i.e. time shifting. This is no different than recording it on a VCR or TIVO (DVR). However, adding your url or posting/uploading the video for others to see is illegal and a copyright violation. You should not add your url to someone else's video and upload it. First, it is not legal. Second, by adding your url, you are basically begging to be tracked down by the copyright holder and sued. Lastly, (and this goes for many people who post questions in DP legal) now that you have posted here and see the comments, any action you take now, will be with the full knowledge that it is illegal. Any uploading of videos by you now wil be knowing and purposeful infringment.
If you record for your personal viewing, it is okay but if you start sharing it then you probably be in violation. You see that now a lot of media companies are going after youtube to take down such video clips taken from the DVD, tv and other media.
It also depends on the show.... the creators of South Park have openly stated that they support people downloading/sharing episodes, and there are a lot of sites doing this openly like mrtwig.net because of that. In general, though, broadcasters won't be happy if you try to distribute shows for free. Be careful.