copyright Articles

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time. Generally, it is “the right to copy”, but also gives the copyright holder the right to be credited for the work, to determine who may adapt the work to other forms, who may perform the work, who may financially benefit from it, and other related rights. It is a form of intellectual property (like the patent, the trademark, and the tr...

Virtual DVD Rental Service Zediva Shut Down Permanently

Zediva had an interesting business model, buy a bunch of DVD players and get a bunch of DVDs for rental. Give users access to a DVD and a player and stream the video to them. Unfortunately, the big bad movie studios didn't like that and ...

Can YouTube Force Ads On Your Video Content? Keep An Eye On Your Soundtrack

YouTube seems to have adopted Google's talent for slipping in quirky new ad placement algorithms with barely a note on the fridge about what's going on. In my job with an online competitive intelligence (SpyFu) company, I often hear about the sudden changes on the ...

ivi TV Continues Its Fight For The Future Of Internet TV

One of the biggest stories of 2011 is what the future of television will look like as service providers, consumer electronics manufacturers and content aggregators all jockey for the prime position in your living room. One company seeking to help consumers "cut the cord" is ...

YouTube Acquires RightsFlow - Easy Music Licensing For Video Creators

One of the headaches that YouTube has been having is keeping music copyright holders happy when someone posts a video of a song cover or has a song playing in the background.  It must seem like a music free-for-all for those who created songs and ...

Parody Videos In Online Marketing – Fair Use Or Illegal?

In our continued "Is That Legal" video series, I have entertainment law attorney and friend-of-ReelSEO, Gordon Firemark, answer a fan's question about making parody videos of professional wrestling for their own marketing activities. 

The End of Fair Use on YouTube? - The Reel Web #11

I'm traveling out of town this weekend, so we're doing this week's look at the Reel Web a bit differently: we're doing it vlog style! I quickly look at a couple stories that stand out to me and share them with you guys in a ...

The Weekly Online Video News Round Up - Lollipop Edition

Allow me to apologize for the very tardy nature of this online video news round up article. I've been dealing with an unexpected illness, and couldn't get it completed until now. We'll be back on our normal schedule for the article next weekend. Well, last ...

Justin Bieber Goes To Prison!...Is One Possible Headline If Bill S.978 Gets Passed

Let's face it. We all expect Justin Bieber to go to prison for some reason down the road, because almost every child who experiences success at such an early age tends to find trouble. Former child stars single-handedly created the E! Network back in the ...

Legally Using Copyrighted Music On Youtube - The Reel Web #10

This week our look at the Reel Web includes several stories surrounding YouTube, specially how users can now create videos in the cloud with WeVideo's cloud-based video editing software. Just upload your video clips, edit them the way you like -- complete with titles, transitions ...

How To Use Royalty Free Music Professionally On YouTube

Proper use of music and sound can make or break your video or film production. However, for those who use YouTube in a professional way, using the right type of music in your productions can make all the difference between a happy and a grumpy ...

Girl Talk's Music Raises Interesting Questions, But Day in the Life Doesn't Explore Them

Girl Talk, aka Gregg Gillis, is a mashup artist.  His 2008 album, "Feed the Animals" pushed him into indie rock stardom, the indie part likely being permanent.  Since Girl Talk creates all of his music from unlicensed samples of popular music, he'll probably never be ...

How To Create A Web Series Using Popular Content Without Infringing On Copyrights

In a previous article titled, "How to Market A Web Series To Generate Interest & Gain Viewers," we talked about a number of ways web series have tried to increase awareness. One of the segments, called "Tie The Web Series to a Companion Piece," discussed ...

Justin Bieber & Lady Gaga Videos Pulled From YouTube By Simple Copyright Claim

Who knew that it was this easy to attack your enemies on YouTube? A prankster calling himself iLCreation has brought mayhem to YouTube today by successfully getting music videos for mega-stars like Justin Bieber, Lady Gaga, & Rihanna pulled from the site. How did this ...

Hulu's Original Web Series, A Day In The Life, Gets Even Better With 2nd Episode

The second episode of Morgan Spurlock's documentary web series A Day in the Life takes a look at stand-up comedian Russell Peters. In the United States, Peters isn't too well-known, but in his native Canada, the UK, and Australia, he has set box office records. ...

MP3Tunes Ruling Also Opens Door For Online Video Storage Services?

A judge has ruled that MP3tunes was not in violation of copyright law, as they were not responsible for the uploading of the files that users were listening to and therefore not responsible for any pirated music that might have been uploaded. To me, this ...