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...

Analyzing The Impact of YouTube's 15 Minutes - Blurring The Lines Between Amateur and Professional

Grant Crowell interviews video marketing author and SEO expert Greg Jarboe about YouTube's time increased of all non-partner videos to 15 minutes. Greg and I discuss what YouTube's reasons were for the increase, who may already be profiting from the increase, and how YouTube has blurred the line between “amateur” and “professional” videos has blurred because of improved monetization opportunities for everyone.

YouTube Increases Time Limits On Uploaded Videos To 15 Minutes

Mark and I are still putting the finishing touches on a video interview we hope to share very soon, and he noticed something interesting when uploading a test version to YouTube:  The time limit has been increased.  He was able to easily upload a 13-minute ...

UFC Sues UStream and Justin.TV Over Live Streaming Copyright Infringement

Copyright infringement is still one of the biggest headaches that video hosting sites deal with on a regular basis--you might have heard about a long legal battle that YouTube spent millions to win.  Most video portals, like YouTube, have gone to great lengths to demonstrate ...

Vimeo Announces Creative Commons Licensing - But Are Users' Hands Tied?

Video hosting platform Vimeo yesterday announced on its blog its support for Creative Commons licensing, providing its members a more precise control over where and how others can use their own videos. But restrictions persist with how members can feature other rights-owners videos and other original works on Vimeo, even if they have the same clearances that Creative Commons provides.

Legal Issues With Online Video for Business – Understanding The Basics

ReelSEO's Grant Crowell interviews Daliah Saper, Intellectual Property and Internet Law attorney, to provide an basic introduction for businesses and other professionals with understanding legal issues with online video.

YouTube Allows Users To Appeal Community Guideline Strikes

YouTube is trying to make their appeals process easier for members by adding features to the account interface.  In the world of YouTube, when you upload a video that ultimately ends up flagged as a violation of the Community Guidelines, your account receives a strike. 

Friendly Music Service Lets YouTubers Buy Licensed Songs for Use In Video

One of the most common ways that YouTube users violate copyright laws is by using unlicensed background music in their video.  Unfortunately, this act also tends to get videos pulled, after copyright holders are alerted to the infringement via YouTube's Content ID service.  And to ...

Understanding Legal Issues With Copyrighted Music In Video

ReelSEO's Grant Crowell interviews Chicago's high-profile “new media” attorney Daliah Saper about some of the important issues that video marketers and other professionals need to be aware of if they are using (or plan to use) other people's music in their own online video pieces, and for their own professional gain.

13 Billion Videos On YouTube for 135.7 Million Viewers In April

My post last month about comScore's metrics got eaten by the ReelSEO gremlins and disappeared into the ether but I'm here again, this time hopefully my insightful commentary won't bend time/space and make the entire article disappear again (which must be what happened last time).

Hitler Memes On YouTube Aren’t Legally Protected Parodies

ReelSEO's Grant Crowell talks with intellectual property attorney Mark Rosenberg, about why the multitude of video clips on YouTube taking a scene from Constantin Films' 2004 film, Der Untergang ("Downfall"), don't meet the criteria for fair use under U.S. law.

IP Extremism In Action? - YouTube To Remove Hitler Memes

Sometimes the world just seems upside-down.  Case in point:  YouTube has begun the daunting task of removing all the clips of the movie Downfall (the now-infamous Hitler-getting-mad clip) due to a copyright claim from Constantin Films. That is exactly the opposite of what most online ...

Is YouTube’s Content ID Gaining Momentum As A Distribution Network?

I wrote last summer about the JK Wedding Dance video, and how it ultimately proved to be a huge positive example of the Content ID system making a company some money.  Without permission, the couple had used Chris Brown's song "Forever" as their dance music ...

Improving Online Video Creative Use and Monetization

ReelSEO's Grant Crowell asks Harvard Law Professor and political activist Lawrence Lessig, what technical and legal platforms best balance the protection of online video copyrights versus creative expression by others?

Livestream Says NO To Piracy, Points Fingers At Competitors

Livestream recently let loose a seriously long-winded open letter to content and event owners seeking to find a streaming partner. In it they included a 'zero tolerance' statement about piracy and a lot of finger pointing at other major live streaming sites.

Remixing Copyrighted Video – Fair Use or Infringement?

ReelSEO's Grant Crowell asks Harvard Law Professor and political activist Lawrence Lessig, what's in it for businesses to be more lax in their enforcement of copyrighted video based on fair use culture?