Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Not-So Intellectual Property
If you use YouTube, lately you may have noticed a new trend. The videos you attempt to upload are being hosted with no sound. Upon completion of the upload, you are greeted with a small message that states the audio track of your movie has been removed due to 3rd party copyright infringement. You are then directed to select an approved, free, alternative music track for your video, if you'd like.
YouTube has been more aggressive in identifying these copyright infringements after Google, YouTube's parent company was handed a lawsuit from Viacom for $1 billion. The lawsuit challenged YouTube's ability to keep copyrighted material off it's site.
I can understand how YouTube would go after users who upload full length feature movies in 10 different parts. This is a clear violation of copyrighted material. However, setting a music track to a photo-slide, or a short film? These are precisely the sorts of videos which have made YouTube as popular as it is. These are the easiest, most user friendly videos which people enjoy hosting for their friends and family to see.
From my experiences on YouTube, it is really a crap shoot. YouTube, may, or may not decide that your video violates copyright laws. I've uploaded a video, and had the audio track removed, only to re-upload it later that day with no problem. Also, there is a very good chance that whatever you are having denied is already being hosted on YouTube. I believe we are in a transition and the days of Free YouTube services may well be coming to an end. Good thing there are a lot of alternatives.
My Recommendations:
Veoh
ExposureRoom
Metacafe
YouTube has been more aggressive in identifying these copyright infringements after Google, YouTube's parent company was handed a lawsuit from Viacom for $1 billion. The lawsuit challenged YouTube's ability to keep copyrighted material off it's site.
I can understand how YouTube would go after users who upload full length feature movies in 10 different parts. This is a clear violation of copyrighted material. However, setting a music track to a photo-slide, or a short film? These are precisely the sorts of videos which have made YouTube as popular as it is. These are the easiest, most user friendly videos which people enjoy hosting for their friends and family to see.
From my experiences on YouTube, it is really a crap shoot. YouTube, may, or may not decide that your video violates copyright laws. I've uploaded a video, and had the audio track removed, only to re-upload it later that day with no problem. Also, there is a very good chance that whatever you are having denied is already being hosted on YouTube. I believe we are in a transition and the days of Free YouTube services may well be coming to an end. Good thing there are a lot of alternatives.
My Recommendations:
Veoh
ExposureRoom
Metacafe
