Copyright Information and how to avoid a strike

epiem

epiem

Achieve. Create. Inspire.
Please read up on Copyright laws AND consult a lawyer.

Most of the information people are giving in this forum regarding copyright is FALSE.

You should seriously do some research before trying to "help" other's out.
You may think you are doing them a favor, when in actuality, you are doing more harm than good.

The ONLY way you can use material for commercial use is if you have EXPLICIT, WRITTEN consent from the artist, the label, the manager, or whoever OWNS the material.

And as far as "Fair Use" goes, you should consult a lawyer to make sure you are on solid ground.

Sure you may be able to put a vid up with Copyrighted music and not get caught...but if you DO get caught, you are jeopardizing all of your hard work and perhaps legal action.

There are many great places online to get royalty free music for free.
http://www.incompetech.com is one

And there are other great places to purchase music for use for a fair price:
http://www.themusicbed.com/
http://www.stockmusic.com/
http://www.jewelbeat.com/
http://www.premiumbeat.com

And MANY MANY MORE.

Just MAKE SURE YOU READ THEIR TERMS OF SERVICE!! Some have restrictive licenses even though you are paying for them.

If you really, really want to make a video using the newest Lil' Wayne song, then you need to contact the label and be ready to spend several thousand dollars for rights to the track.

If you get a gut feeling that "This might be wrong" or "I wonder if I should do this" You are probably right! YOU SHOULDN'T DO IT.

Don't consult random forums and get some random info from some unknown person....
Be smart guys, consult professionals like copyright lawyers for advice on things like this.

Copyright is a big deal and should not be taken lightly.

Would you want someone to steal your music or copy your video and make money off of it, while you get nothing?
I didn't think so....
 
Here is the law on Fair Use for anyone in doubt
One of the rights accorded to the owner of copyright is the right to reproduce or to authorize others to reproduce the work in copies or phonorecords. This right is subject to certain limitations found in sections 107 through 118 of the copyright law (title 17, U. S. Code). One of the more important limitations is the doctrine of “fair use.” The doctrine of fair use has developed through a substantial number of court decisions over the years and has been codified in section 107 of the copyright law.
Section 107 contains a list of the various purposes for which the reproduction of a particular work may be considered fair, such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Section 107 also sets out four factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use is fair.
  1. The purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes
  2. The nature of the copyrighted work
  3. The amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole
  4. The effect of the use upon the potential market for, or value of, the copyrighted work
​
The distinction between what is fair use and what is infringement in a particular case will not always be clear or easily defined. There is no specific number of words, lines, or notes that may safely be taken without permission. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.
The 1961 Report of the Register of Copyrights on the General Revision of the U.S. Copyright Law cites examples of activities that courts have regarded as fair use: “quotation of excerpts in a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment; quotation of short passages in a scholarly or technical work, for illustration or clarification of the author’s observations; use in a parody of some of the content of the work parodied; summary of an address or article, with brief quotations, in a news report; reproduction by a library of a portion of a work to replace part of a damaged copy; reproduction by a teacher or student of a small part of a work to illustrate a lesson; reproduction of a work in legislative or judicial proceedings or reports; incidental and fortuitous reproduction, in a newsreel or broadcast, of a work located in the scene of an event being reported.”
Copyright protects the particular way authors have expressed themselves. It does not extend to any ideas, systems, or factual information conveyed in a work.
The safest course is to get permission from the copyright owner before using copyrighted material. The Copyright Office cannot give this permission.
When it is impracticable to obtain permission, you should consider avoiding the use of copyrighted material unless you are confident that the doctrine of fair use would apply to the situation. The Copyright Office can neither determine whether a particular use may be considered fair nor advise on possible copyright violations. If there is any doubt, it is advisable to consult an attorney.
 
The nice thing about Kevin McLeod is that his website explicitly shows the license that he uses (Creative Commons 3.0) and he has a reputation for respecting that license. Certainly, if someone got a copyright strike from one of his works, it would not be him sending it; and if he did, he'd be violating the CC 3.0 license. I love that there's an amazing artist out there, respecting the CC license, respecting YouTubers, and actually making the music in our esteemed community that much better.

As for commercial works, it's best to stay away from them period (without the obvious consent or a similar license.)

And, of course, there's just random nonsense such as what RumbleFish was doing for a while; but there's no way to protect against that. We have a long way to go before copyright and how it's handled by YouTube comes to some sort of an understanding. The action of a copyright strike has a lot of social impact and people build their business on YT.
 
I think copyright strikes on music is rare on YouTube these days. Most of the time they just stick an ad on your video. But I agree that it's better just to use royalty-free music. At the least, you're saving your viewers from an annoying popup ad due to your 5 second use of One Direction (actually I wonder if the 4% pitch shift is still effective at avoiding the automated content ID bot?).

The other thing is if your video goes viral you'll be in the sights of the music companies. If you happened to fill your awesome viral video with copyright pop music, you could get screwed over with a copyright strike and your fame will be cut short.

Also note that any Fair Use law may not necessarily be applicable if you are outside the US.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top