How YouTube Copyright Really Works (Gaming)

[Shehzad]

Alright, I see a lot of people who discuss copyright on a daily basis and a lot of people really get it wrong. One of the best myth debunking site is YouTube itself. They already have their Copyright FAQ (https://www.youtube.com/yt/copyright/en-GB/fair-use.html) that explains quite well what it considered fair use and what is not. I recommend going straight to the link since it will completely debunk stuff for you and make it easier to understand so that you are able to monetize your videos if you are unsure. You always have to remember though that if someone owns content on your video but your video falls under fair use you are more likely to get that video back up if they take it down as you can refute the claim easier.

Companies like EA and Nintendo still get around it to this day and ignore the copyright laws that are put in place. They will tend to pick on YouTube channels, send a claim and wait until it expires. This is a huge problem because they actually earn your revenue for the amount of time that the false claim is up not to mention that it is against DMCA/Copyright law to send out false claims. However YouTube FAQ and claim system itself does in fact not honour DMCA law as it lets people abuse their claim system.

Copyright law has got better online IMHO compared to 5 years ago (May get worse In the US and actually effect us all if TPP does get passed, completely agree with Tarmack) as some governments have become more aware (well at least the EU are nicer and more fair compared to other countries). This means that you also have to be careful and make sure that you fall under fair use when making content that contains stuff that you do not own as you can actually get taken to court and this has happened in some instances (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lenz_v._Universal_Music_Corp.) especially if you profit from it quite a bit. Even doing Let's Plays of certain games and monetizing that video nowadays does not mean that your video is under fair use as you don't own the game. Some game companies don't mind and allow you to make profit from monetization of gameplay. For example valve, wow, EA etc all have a section on their website (https://help.ea.com/uk/article/how-to-request-permission-for-ea-games-content/) telling you this whereas some companies will take a percentage off your earnings from you if your just uploading gameplay or you may have to request their permission. You are also more likely to fall under fair use if you are doing more of your niche as a content creator on your gameplay/ let's plays as it can be a point to argue on a claim.

I hope this clears some stuff up and make sure you visit the links as I did not want this post to simply be a copy and paste of YouTube's FAQ and copyright laws. Make sure that you try to reference things on issues such as these since as if you give bad advice you never know what impact it can have down the line on that person's YouTube channel because of false information.

 

[Tarmack]

Copyright law is getting better online as governments now realize that it is a big deal.

You do not understand what you're talking about. The Lenz case is not a trend towards good copyright law. It is an outlying case. Good as the case might be for us, copyright law is NOT getting better. In fact, if you follow the TPP and TPIP discussions, it's about to get a whole lot worse.

 

[Shehzad]

You do not understand what you're talking about. The Lenz case is not a trend towards good copyright law. It is an outlying case. Good as the case might be for us, copyright law is NOT getting better. In fact, if you follow the TPP and TPIP discussions, it's about to get a whole lot worse.

Hmm I always thought It was getting better since TB older videos are getting back up. I did Law school back In college and read quite a few cases and to me it seemed governments became more aware. Especially in the music and movie scene on YouTube. I used the case as an example to show that you can actually go to court and not as an example of how governments are becoming more aware of copyright ("you can actually get taken to court and this has happened in some instances") I never mentioned that it was trending towards how better copyright is getting using that link. Now you can sue back the third party if you really think they are breaching your rights. Especially if you get taken to court and you end up winning your claim you get even more money for any damages that may have occurred (mental, wage damage etc). I know this because I sat in court and it was pretty much my course. TPP has not had it off as bad as someone like Angry Joe who you do not mess with. TB already had developers apologize to him, look at the garry's incident (shows that companies can't power through so much anymore). He deals with these things more regularly than TB. If you look at the latest Konami thing (http://kotaku.com/youtube-overrides-konamis-video-takedown-1704477268) Youtube seem to be putting these companies back into place. The problem we have nowadays is companies are still getting around this (EA, KONAMI) and breach Laws put in place. This is still bad and it may not look like there is no progress but compare it to six years ago when this fair use business didn't even exist on YouTube until it started getting more mainstream light. Also I don't deal in discussions I only deal in what has happened in the past which is the definition of fact. Maybe am wrong and it get's worse but that's my honest opinion on the matter of if copyright law is going to get better. My posts are definitely not as informative as your but I want people to avoid giving advice that they have not researched since they don't realize it can have an effect on that persons account. That's really the whole point of the post, whether am wrong on if governments are becoming more aware/getting better at copyright doesn't bother me at all and doesn't matter anyway cause I don't intend the post to be about this that's just an opinion to argue about.

 

[Tarmack]

When I refer to TPP, I'm talking about the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Not MGSV.

 

[Shehzad]

When I refer to TPP, I'm talking about the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Not MGSV.

Am talking about total biscuit even though I said TPP I got so confused it was late night, that trans pacific partnership doesn't cover the UK so I'm not aware of it. I'll edit TB back in but we had something like this in the past (SOPA, PIPA) and it never came to be so I got my hopes up that It never will. But you stating that I don't know what am talking about based on one statement which is an opinion and so is yours is a bit far fetched friend. Remember what happened during SOPA everyone on the internet opposed it and the governments didn't go ahead with it did they? As I said it's a point to argue but based on these past legislation not happening because of people not being happy with it, I don't think it will come to be and if it does then yeah it is bad but I remember how p****d off I was during SOPA, PIPA and nothing ever came to be yet millions of people have already condemned TPP through social media so what do you think would happen if it came to pass? A lot of very angry people who will not vote for those politicians. It would also clash with EU laws so I dunno how they expect it to pass so easy. There is already a coalition who are against it and people in congress who are against it, it will depend on the votes and something as ridiculous as this will have people vote for the right person and not one who supports it.

 

[offbeatbryce]

Alright, I see a lot of people who discuss copyright on a daily basis and a lot of people really get it wrong. One of the best myth debunking site is YouTube itself. They already have their Copyright FAQ () that explains quite well what it considered fair use and what is not. I recommend going straight to the link since it will completely debunk stuff for you and make it easier to understand so that you are able to monetize your videos if you are unsure. You always have to remember though that if someone owns content on your video but your video falls under fair use you are more likely to get that video back up if they take it down as you can refute the claim easier.

Companies like EA and Nintendo still get around it to this day and ignore the copyright laws that are put in place. They will tend to pick more on smaller YouTube channels since if they did anything on a big YouTubers channel all it will take is a tweet from that YouTuber on that day and that company is ganna stay in a bad light for a long time and can even lose out on profits that day as people from that fan base especially if it's someone like TotalBiscuit who gets his issues posted across gaming websites when drama does occur.

Copyright law is getting better online as governments now realize that it is a big deal, which also means that you also have to be careful and make sure that you fall under fair use when making content that contains stuff that you do not own as you can actually get taken to court and this has happened in some instances (.) especially if you profit from it quite a bit. Even doing Let's Plays of certain games and monetizing that video nowadays does not mean that your video is under fair use as you don't own the game. Some game companies don't mind and allow you to make profit from monetization of gameplay. For example valve, wow, EA etc all have a section on their website () telling you this whereas some companies will take a percentage off your earnings from you if your just uploading gameplay or you may have to request their permission. You are also more likely to fall under fair use if you are doing more of your niche as a content creator on your gameplay/ let's plays as it can be a point to argue on a claim.

I hope this clears some stuff up and make sure you visit the links as I did not want this post to simply be a copy and paste of YouTube's FAQ and copyright laws. Make sure that you try to reference things on issues such as these since as if you give bad advice you never know what impact it can have down the line on that person's YouTube channel because of false information.

This is only Video Games right?

 

[Shehzad]

This is only Video Games right?

Applies to most things (games included) including music not just video games. However music isn't explained quite as well on the FAQ but the doctrines still apply to it. I've only explained how it works with gameplay so yes to answer your question.

 

[offbeatbryce]

Applies to most things (games included) including music not just video games. However music isn't explained quite as well on the FAQ but the doctrines still apply to it. I've only explained how it works with gameplay so yes to answer your question.

But you do know YouTube has paid licenses to allow the copyright claims to exist right? If you upload a cover or audio recording of a song the copyright owner gets paid royalty fees for that upload. I asked Warner, UMG, Sony and all have told me this. It's even stated on harry fox agency website which collects royalty fee's

 

[Shehzad]

But you do know YouTube has paid licenses to allow the copyright claims to exist right? If you upload a cover or audio recording of a song the copyright owner gets paid royalty fees for that upload. I asked Warner, UMG, Sony and all have told me this. It's even stated on harry fox agency website which collects royalty fee's

I am fully aware of it, what they do is monetize it themselves so they get a share of what you make on the video. Saying that not every music company does this out of the goodness of their heart and since uploading audio that doesn't belong to you already breaches a copyright law (YouTube is not somewhere that can avoid copyright laws placed by government legislation) not every music company states that they will allow you to do so as long as they take a percentage off it. Saying that people on YTtalk already post things about these claims because their video gets taken down by the music company that owns the music. There are hundreds of music companies out there so even if Sony, UMG and Fox allows you to do so it doesn't mean the other companies will. Also I don't suggest doing so since you get a copyright notice so that they can take a percentage off that video from you. A lot of the smaller partnerships don't allow you to partner up with them if the music company is taking a share off one of your videos or if you have any copyright notices at all.

 

[offbeatbryce]

I am fully aware of it, what they do is monetize it themselves so they get a share of what you make on the video. Saying that not every music company does this out of the goodness of their heart and since uploading audio that doesn't belong to you already breaches a copyright law (YouTube is not somewhere that can avoid copyright laws placed by government legislation) not every music company states that they will allow you to do so as long as they take a percentage off it. Saying that people on YTtalk already post things about these claims because their video gets taken down by the music company that owns the music. There are hundreds of music companies out so even if Sony, UMG and Fox allows you to do so it doesn't mean the other companies will.

According to the supreme court the deals the companies I mentioned are licensing deals. The supreme court says it's not copyright infringement because they are getting paid a license fee. The companies I mentioned even told me this doesn't count as copyright infringement of you use an audio recording or straight cover. You just can't always do mashups etc. I've heard the same thing from copyright laywers. One lawyer provided me with an official YouTube License contract that states these companies promise not to sue anyone if they follow the guidelines.

So I think many people here are dead wrong when they think it's against copyright. I even spoke to the vice president of these companies and was told what I'm doing by uploading songs or covers is not illegal as long as I don't monetize it (unless YouTube provides Revenue Sharing) These vice presidents would not steer me wrong. I've never had a problem. I've followed their guidelines of emailing them the URL and they've claimed it and never blocked a single thing or took anything down.[DOUBLEPOST=1453482320,1453482081][/DOUBLEPOST]My speculation why things get taken down is because they don't follow the guidelines? How many people on here actually email the URL to their video to youtube@warnerchappell.com? Probably hardly any. How many on here display lyrics in the video? That's against the license deal with YouTube if you use a UMG or Sony song without asking first. When you do a cover you can't change any of the lyrics without authorization. I always ask if I can change lyrics when I want to and sometimes I am told I can and that Cover is never taken down. Youtube even has list of songs you can use with policies next to them. They are even getting revenue sharing for certain audio recordings.