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...

Un-Viralize Your Video: How To Stop A Video's Rise Once It's Started

I know its every person's dream to have a video go viral on YouTube, but what if it starts to go viral and you need to stop it for one reason or another? That's what happened to me last week. Since I have an active ...

Online Video Shows Why DCMA & Copyright Law Are Overdue For Reform

Should the Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998, which has been the basis for rulings around copyright infringement with online video and all other Internet content, have a 2011 makeover? I interviewed New York intellectual property attorney Robert W. Clarida about some of the problems ...

Android Market Movie Rentals Blocked On Rooted Android Devices

Here's something that I'm not at all impressed with on the part of Google and Android. I read over at Engadget that Rooted Android devices won't be able to stream content from YouTube or the Android Market. Now, I don't have any plans at present ...

Is My Video Legal? Parody and Fair Use in Online Video: Q&A

When it comes to video marketing, there are two legal defenses in U.S. for using somebody else's copyrighted work in your video without first receiving expressed permission, those being parody and fair use. In my continued "Is My Video Legal?" video series, I feature a ...

Welcome to Show Business: Are You Sure Your Webcast Plays By the Rules?

Producing webcasts or online video series for marketing purposes can be a dream come true for creative types who love working with like-minded people. If you want to use professional talent or popular music within these webcasts, however, it can quickly turn into a nightmare ...

The Week's Best Viral Videos & Marketing Lessons - Musical Multitasking

What makes a video go viral? What triggers the act of sharing a clip on Facebook or Twitter? Generally, it's emotion: laughter, tears, surprise, shock, etc. It's not enough to create pretty images or great special effects if the audience doesn't feel anything when your ...

YouTube Is Finally Getting Better At Explaining Fair Use

Fair use is so complex and nuanced, that even most professional video creators would be hard pressed to explain it succinctly and clearly. Copyright law is just... complicated, like most laws. To their credit, YouTube has tried to offer resources on multiple occasions to help ...

The Day Patriotism Defeated Web Video Copyright Watchdogs

There is a huge problem in this country, and it's this: unauthorized use of copyrighted content in online videos. Every day there are millions of videos uploaded to YouTube that contain images and audio that someone else owns. It's illegal, and some companies are going ...

Legal Guide to Online Video : What Web Video Publishers Need to Know

I interviewed David Michail, an attorney specializing in media, entertainment, and technology law. David talks with me about some of the important legal issues today for video marketers publishing on YouTube and online video in user-generated content, copyright, defamation, trademark, and otherwise objectionable material.

YouTube Gets Serious About Copyright Violation Education, Revamps Help Center

YouTube has been pretty good about fighting copyright violations. At least, I think so. They've worked hard to remove videos containing unauthorized clips, and they created ContentID to go an extra step in scoping out violations on behalf of certain partners. They even ban user ...

How to License Online Video & Protect your Ownership: Legal Video Tips

In Part 2 of my 2-part interview with entertainment and media lawyer Gordon P. Firemark, he shares with us about how to get and give proper permissions and licensing for online videos, as well as how to have your attorney negotiate deals and draft contracts ...

Exploring Legal Ramifications with Web Video & How to Overcome Them: Podcast

I interviewed Entertainment Lawyer Gordon Firemark, producer and host of Entertainment Law Update, and author of "The Podcast, Blog, and New Media Producer's Legal Survival Guide." In Part 1 of our 2-part Interview, Gordon shares with me some of the more important legal issues today ...

My Video Rights Helps Web Video Content Owners Monetize Unauthorized Usage

There may be a new copyright sheriff in town, but this sheriff won't be locking anyone up. MyVideoRights.com is an online video advertising service that monitors unauthorized usage of copyrighted materials in web video. Instead of shutting down the illegal clips, the company then works ...

Nielsen and comScore Row Over Patents

Nielsen, who was previously sued by and then paid $15 million to Jupiter Media Metrix for patents regarding  the collection, analysis and reporting of information concerning computer activity is now suing comScore for pretty much the same thing. Uh oh, someone is angry over someone ...

An Unsolicited Advertising Suggestion for YouTube

YouTube, like their parent company, has some pretty slick programming applications. The most impressive, in my opinion, is Content ID. Content ID monitors uploaded video and alerts copyright holders whenever copyrighted video content is used illegally - automatically. At that point, the copyright holder can ...