Re: [videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-24 Thread Jen Simmons
On Jan 19, 2006, at 9:50 AM, David Howell wrote:

How about the rebroadcasting of video? I see this time and time again
 online where someone has captured something off the television, or
 downloaded it from somewhere and then slapped it up on their website.

 Case and point, http://www.palazzojay.blogspot.com/

 The reason I am using this site as an example (there are tons of sites
 similar to this one out there) is that these rebroadcasted videos are
 all over Blip this morning. Now, the person that has that website
 really isnt breaking a copyright law. Correct? Blip are the ones that
 are actually hosting those videos. I assume that they must accept full
 responsibility should a Saturday Night Live lawyer come look around.
 Something tells me that SNL doesnt use a Creative Commons license with
 regards to their old shows.

 Of course, that could open a huge can of worms when it comes to people
 using copyright music within their videos. Many people do it. I myself
 have been guilty of using music I didnt own in a video. Blatant
 rebroadcasting of a television program is another thing though.

 Am I way off base here and is there some clause in a Blip
 agreement/contract that releases them of all copyright infringments?

 David
http://www.taoofdavid.com


Yeah, Jay was totally violating copyright. There's no question what he was doing was illegal. He wasn't using bits of SNL in a larger piece of artwork. He wasn't making a video of himself on SNL, cutting in and out of their sketches, back to him... He didn't add value to the material -- he was clearly rebroadcasting work that he didn't have any rights to. He was putting blip at risk as well. There is no way that blip could sign something with Jay that would release them of responsibility -- Jay has no legal standing to sign a contract about someone else's work. 

It's interesting that you used him as an example -- he was a student in my videoblogging class last semester. (The whole posting SNL clips and t.v. commercials thing was new, however. He added those to his blog after the semester was over.)

SNL is a particularly hot set of videos to post right now, in my opinion, since NBC just signed a deal with Apple to put them on the iTunes Music store. Apple has reason to want to clamp down on illegal rebroadcast, as well as NBC. 

So what happened? Blip.tv pulled all the videos and emailed Jay to say... uh Mr. Palazzo we don't think so. Blip was very kind, and didn't punish him. They just stopped him cold. 




[videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-24 Thread David Howell
Glad to see a replied to my post. I was beginning to think no one
thought it was an important issue.

The reason I used him as an example was that I noticed a ton of videos
from him at Blip on a continuing basis. I am pretty sure that there
are others that do the same, upload copyrighted material, however not
to the extent that he was.

David
http://www.taoofdavid.com

--- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Jen Simmons [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 On Jan 19, 2006, at 9:50 AM, David Howell wrote:
 
  How about the rebroadcasting of video? I see this time and time again
   online where someone has captured something off the television, or
   downloaded it from somewhere and then slapped it up on their website.
 
   Case and point, http://www.palazzojay.blogspot.com/
 
   The reason I am using this site as an example (there are tons of
sites
   similar to this one out there) is that these rebroadcasted videos are
   all over Blip this morning. Now, the person that has that website
   really isnt breaking a copyright law. Correct? Blip are the ones that
   are actually hosting those videos. I assume that they must accept
full
   responsibility should a Saturday Night Live lawyer come look around.
   Something tells me that SNL doesnt use a Creative Commons license
with
   regards to their old shows.
 
   Of course, that could open a huge can of worms when it comes to
people
   using copyright music within their videos. Many people do it. I
myself
   have been guilty of using music I didnt own in a video. Blatant
   rebroadcasting of a television program is another thing though.
 
   Am I way off base here and is there some clause in a Blip
   agreement/contract that releases them of all copyright infringments?
 
   David
  http://www.taoofdavid.com
 
 
 Yeah, Jay was totally violating copyright. There's no question what he 
 was doing was illegal. He wasn't using bits of SNL in a larger piece of 
 artwork. He wasn't making a video of himself on SNL, cutting in and out 
 of their sketches, back to him... He didn't add value to the material 
 -- he was clearly rebroadcasting work that he didn't have any rights 
 to. He was putting blip at risk as well. There is no way that blip 
 could sign something with Jay that would release them of responsibility 
 -- Jay has no legal standing to sign a contract about someone else's 
 work.
 
 It's interesting that you used him as an example -- he was a student in 
 my videoblogging class last semester. (The whole posting SNL clips and 
 t.v. commercials thing was new, however. He added those to his blog 
 after the semester was over.)
 
 SNL is a particularly hot set of videos to post right now, in my 
 opinion, since NBC just signed a deal with Apple to put them on the 
 iTunes Music store. Apple has reason to want to clamp down on illegal 
 rebroadcast, as well as NBC.
 
 So what happened? Blip.tv pulled all the videos and emailed Jay to 
 say... uh Mr. Palazzo we don't think so. Blip was very kind, 
 and didn't punish him. They just stopped him cold.








 
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Re: [videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-20 Thread Jen Simmons
On Jan 19, 2006, at 6:53 PM, Andreas Haugstrup wrote:

that's why I keep  
 recommending college text books on mass media law and not just a website  
 with bullet points about Fair Use.

Just to be clear -- the website I recommended at:
 
is not just a website with bullet points... in fact I would regard it as more authoritative than any book on Fair Use. Usually I would never say such a thing -- websites are wrong and flaky more often than books -- but this isn't just any website let me give some background about who published the info on that site.

In the U.S., understanding Fair Use had become increasingly confusing to independent media makers. With our desire and ability to quote other media rising in this digital era, and with the increasing power of media corporations who buy copyrights from other people  corporations and have their lawyers extend the length of time of those copyrights through longer than ever seen before, and with the way the _all_ of the laws are being rewritten in the U.S. to favor corporate rights over human rights... more and more documentary filmmakers were giving up on ever using Fair Use. It was especially hard for documentary feature filmmakers who would do research (like you are advocating), learn about copyright law in-depth, make decisions about what they could use under fair use and without paying huge fees... and then these filmmakers would take their films to PBS / ITVS / POV (all public funding / distribution programs in the U.S.) and these major distributors would say no -- we can't show this, you have to pay royalties on all this. Sometimes the broadcast royalties that were being demanded cost much more than the original film budget -- hundreds of thousands of dollars. And film projects would get stopped cold. Basically fair use existed in the U.S., but independent filmmakers couldn't use it because the broadcasters were so conservative in their interpretation of what could be done. And foundations and funding sources were getting chewed up paying royalties to by rights to footage / music / etc that could have be used without paying by declaring fair use.

So, the Rockefeller Foundation and the MacArthur Foundation (who fund a lot of the projects that I'm talking about) got together and funded a huge multi-year study and conversation about what's going on. American University coordinated the whole project, and they consulted with a gazillion lawyers and fair use experts and filmmaker associations and together wrote up a statement. This statement that's been produced is not one person's idea about fair use, it is now the definitive guide and statement of intention of an entire industry about how all of these people will now understand, interpret and use the concept of Fair Use. They are not legislatures or judges, so they didn't actually re-write the law, but I would consider this the next best thing. Basically it's a huge alliance of all of the biggest players in the U.S. saying, look, it's been confusing, we all ran away from the issue because we didn't want to get in trouble, but that wasn't working for us, so this is what we are going to do now. If anyone exercises fair use under these guidelines, and then gets sued, they have the entire pack of organizations behind them defending what they did. Judges are into professional guidelines and statements like these, and will listen.

Who's in this alliance? The statement was co-written by:
Association of Independent Video and Filmmakers
Independent Feature Project
International Documentary Association
National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture
Women in Film and Video (Washington, D.C., chapter) 
and endorsed by:
Arts Engine
Bay Area Video Coalition
Doculink
Full Frame Festival
Independent Television Service
P.O.V./American Documentary
University Film and Video Association
Video Association of Dallas
Women Make Movies

So it's a REALLY big deal.

Now it covers only Fair Use, in the U.S., and not all of the issues that have come up in this email discussion. And I've argued for the use of copyrighted material that goes beyond fair use. This document is more careful, and names specific instances when a media maker should feel very justified to use copyrighted material. There are, of course, many non-fair-use instances that are illegal, many others that are not, and others that are still vague. And of course, people are free to make choices that might be considered illegal, or are in the grey area, and wait to see what happens... Negativeland URL: http://www.negativland.com/ > URL: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negativland > is a great example of a group of artists who pushes the boundaries of what's considered legal, to test those boundaries and to create art that couldn't be created by towing the line. It's that spirit that created Creative Commons. To me, I don't want to assume that videoblogging falls under the law in exactly the same way that television broadcasting does. But that of, course is my opinion -- 

Re: [videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-20 Thread Andreas Haugstrup
On Fri, 20 Jan 2006 14:28:36 +0100, Jen Simmons [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 On Jan 19, 2006, at 6:53 PM, Andreas Haugstrup wrote:

 that's why I keep 
  recommending college text books on mass media law and not just a
 website 
  with bullet points about Fair Use.

 Just to be clear -- the website I recommended at:
 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/fairuse.htm
 is not just a website with bullet points... in fact I would regard it
 as more authoritative than any book on Fair Use. Usually I would never
 say such a thing -- websites are wrong and flaky more often than books
 -- but this isn't just any website let me give some background
 about who published the info on that site.

You missed my point. It is a great guide. My point is that videobloggers  
can't do with just knowing Fair Use. There are multiple laws that  
videobloggers need to familiarize themselves with - copyright being only  
one. Thus it is not enough *just* to read a guide on fair use.

- Andreas
-- 
URL: http://www.solitude.dk/ 
Commentary on media, communication, culture and technology.


 
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[videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-19 Thread Crystal

 
 Nikidigital was talking about copyright. Logos are usuallly not 
covered by  
 copyrights (they're not Works), and Home Depot certainly don't 
have  
 copyrights covering their storefronts. What you're talking about 
is not  
 copyrights!
 
  It's called FAIR USE, and there are many many times people can 
use
  footage created or owned by others, images and trademarks and 
public
  appearances and such.
 
 No, Fair Use related to using copyrighted works.
 
 - Andreas
 -- 
 URL: http://www.solitude.dk/ 
 Commentary on media, communication, culture and technology.



--

Okay but how about Music? If I publish lets say stillshots with 
background music of my favorite artist that goes along with the 
pictures...and I have the CD so its not like I stole it off the net. 
Republish on the net...so every can see it. But yet its mainly for 
Friends and Family

is that breaking any laws?

I mean its my CD so why can't i put MY pictures to music and share 
it with people??







 
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Re: [videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-19 Thread Andreas Haugstrup
On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 13:35:58 +0100, Crystal [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 Okay but how about Music? If I publish lets say stillshots with
 background music of my favorite artist that goes along with the
 pictures...and I have the CD so its not like I stole it off the net.
 Republish on the net...so every can see it. But yet its mainly for
 Friends and Family

 is that breaking any laws?

 I mean its my CD so why can't i put MY pictures to music and share
 it with people??

When you buy a cd you buy a copy of the music for personal use. What you  
can and cannot do is governed by copyright law. Broadcasting the music to  
the world is not one of the things you can do. This is why I keep  
repeating my mantra: Educate yourself. Buy a book or borrow one at the  
library. Learn the law.

- Andreas
-- 
URL: http://www.solitude.dk/ 
Commentary on media, communication, culture and technology.


 
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Re: [videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-19 Thread Jen Simmons
Yes,
  in my rant I was being completely U.S.-centric without acknowledging 
it... (very american). I apologize.

Thanks for letting us know about copyright law are Australia. Anyone 
else?? Other places??

This does bring up interesting points -- the internet is global, so how 
does the law or practices of individual countries come into play? Since 
the corporate conglomerate has become more powerful than any country 
and more rights-laden than any individual, and passes right over 
borders as if they aren't there -- how does this reality affect what we 
as artists do or don't do? Does U.S. copyright law cover the globe in a 
way, since most global corporations are run by U.S. owners (with an 
off-shore address to evade taxes of course)?

The professional independent U.S. filmmaker community is obsessed with 
copyright law in just the U.S., but it really is a globe question. Is 
the global videoblogging community the group to help figure a lot of 
this out / help create a climate of openness, a culture of taking all 
opportunities, and a habit of pushing the envelope instead of recoiling 
in fear??

jen

jenSimmons
http://www.emergingawareness.org
http://www.inclinationsthemovie.com
http://www.jensimmons.com
On Jan 19, 2006, at 1:34 AM, Kath O'Donnell wrote:



 Jen, I'm guessing you live in USA?
 just for info for any Aussies on the list who haven't already seen 
 this, here's a fair use - myths  misconceptions document from 
 Australian Copyright Centre ( http://www.copyright.org.au ) as there 
 are some differences between Aus  US laws
 http://www.copyright.org.au/specialinterest/G091.pdf

 cheers
 Kath




 
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[videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-19 Thread David Howell
How about the rebroadcasting of video? I see this time and time again
online where someone has captured something off the television, or
downloaded it from somewhere and then slapped it up on their website.

Case and point, http://www.palazzojay.blogspot.com/

The reason I am using this site as an example (there are tons of sites
similar to this one out there) is that these rebroadcasted videos are
all over Blip this morning. Now, the person that has that website
really isnt breaking a copyright law. Correct? Blip are the ones that
are actually hosting those videos. I assume that they must accept full
responsibility should a Saturday Night Live lawyer come look around.
Something tells me that SNL doesnt use a Creative Commons license with
regards to their old shows.

Of course, that could open a huge can of worms when it comes to people
using copyright music within their videos. Many people do it. I myself
have been guilty of using music I didnt own in a video. Blatant
rebroadcasting of a television program is another thing though.

Am I way off base here and is there some clause in a Blip
agreement/contract that releases them of all copyright infringments?

David
http://www.taoofdavid.com

--- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Andreas Haugstrup
[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 13:35:58 +0100, Crystal [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 
  Okay but how about Music? If I publish lets say stillshots with
  background music of my favorite artist that goes along with the
  pictures...and I have the CD so its not like I stole it off the net.
  Republish on the net...so every can see it. But yet its mainly for
  Friends and Family
 
  is that breaking any laws?
 
  I mean its my CD so why can't i put MY pictures to music and share
  it with people??
 
 When you buy a cd you buy a copy of the music for personal use. What
you  
 can and cannot do is governed by copyright law. Broadcasting the
music to  
 the world is not one of the things you can do. This is why I keep  
 repeating my mantra: Educate yourself. Buy a book or borrow one at the  
 library. Learn the law.
 
 - Andreas
 -- 
 URL: http://www.solitude.dk/ 
 Commentary on media, communication, culture and technology.







 
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[videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-19 Thread Carl Weaver
Jen, this isn't quite accurate. There are provisions for fair use and these
govern a couple things, such as what the video is being used for and how long
the video clip is that you want to copy. I am not an attorney but I used to work
in the copyright world, securing permission to reprint material. take what I am
about to say with the knowledge that I am more of an expert than many people but
certainly not an attorney.

Saying you can tape CNN off the TV and then rebroadcast it for free is like
saying you can photocopy John Grisham's new book and reprint it. It doesn't work
like that as a blanket thing. Again, for some cases you can use short snippets
but for the most part no. Charity or not. Profits, revenues, nonprofits and
charities have no sway in this matter for the most part.

And who is in the video doesn't have anything to do with it. The copyright is
owned by the person or company that created the piece. Just like the copyright
of a portrait I shoot as a photographer is owned by me, not the person I
photographed. I may give someone else permission to use the picture or not. But
if you decide to republish it without permission, we have a problem. There are
also all sorts of legalities involved with whether I have permission from the
person to use their likeness and image for certain purposes, but that person
does not own the copyright to the image without my assigning it to them.

All that being said, my philosophy is to use other sources sparingly, sometimes
treading to the other side of the legal line. However, if called out for it, I
will modify my videos to appease copyright holders. the quality of my
productions make it obvious that I am not making any money and I am not saying
anything bad about the copyright holders, so most would have no problem.
However, I do not have the right to use someone else's work simply because I
want to or because I think I should have the right.

So you are right in that we shouldn't censor ourselves, but it's good to know
what is covered by fair use, especially when doing videos professionally. If you
want the straight poop, consult an attorney.

Just my two cents. And then some.

Carl
carlweaver.blogspot.com
worcesterdiaries.blogspot.com

Carl Weaver
Photographer
www.carlweaver.com

From: Jen Simmons [EMAIL PROTECTED]
 Subject: Re: legal rights of copyrighted material
 
 On Jan 18, 2006, at 6:47 PM, nikadigital wrote:
 
  it doesn't matter
   if you are making money or doing this for charity. you must secure
   clearance.
 
 This just isn't true. There are many times when you can use material  
 that is owned by others without their permission. I can do a story  
 about Home Depot, for example, use their logo, film in front of their  
 store and talk all about them without their permission. Maybe I'm  
 uncovering bad practices, and of course they might want to stop me, but  
 they can't. I can create a piece about Bush, using footage of Bush,  
 without his permission -- I can even take that footage from CNN, right  
 off the tv, without CNN's permission (I did this...  
 http://www.bushforpeace.us and distributed the piece all over).
 
 It's called FAIR USE, and there are many many times people can use  
 footage created or owned by others, images and trademarks and public  
 appearances and such.
 
 SO PLEASE -- let's not censor ourselves, or scare each other into not  
 doing some great work out of a misunderstanding of what we can and  
 can't do legally.
 
 We all have a lot more in the way of rights than people are exercising  
 in this lawsuit-fearful / pro-corporate-rights and  
 anti-people-(especially-artist)-rights climate!


-
This mail sent through IMP: http://horde.org/imp/


 
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Re: [videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-19 Thread Jen Simmons
On Jan 19, 2006, at 7:35 AM, Crystal wrote:

 Okay but how about Music? If I publish lets say stillshots with 
 background music of my favorite artist that goes along with the 
 pictures...and I have the CD so its not like I stole it off the net. 
 Republish on the net...so every can see it. But yet its mainly for 
 Friends and Family

 is that breaking any laws?

 I mean its my CD so why can't i put MY pictures to music and share 
 it with people??

The answer: no one knows yet.
The laws regarding use of copyrighted works were written to be intentionally vague. The plan was for the law to have a large grey area so a judge could decide on a case-by-case basis what's right and what's not. The world has changed a lot, very quickly, however, and this new world we live in is, well, new! What does it mean for a ''regular person to make a movie using protected work and put it on the internet for a handful people to see?? I don't think a case like that has ever come before a court for a decision, and since the laws passed by legislators and previous court cases don't deal with this issue, then there is no law about it yet. 

Meanwhile not only has the internet changed broadcasting, and computers have broken-down barriers to entry to creating films and media... but also corporations have taken over more and more, buying up the rights to more and more. 

Really I think there are two issues here: 
what is legal, and
what is respectful.

I see no need to respect the copyright on Happy Birthday (which was owned by AOL/Time Warner... who's got it now?) If you are making a feature film to distribute in theaters, you have to buy the rights to use the song -- and it's incredibly expensive. The song was written in 1893 by Mildred and Patty Hill, with different words, and so the artists are long gone. AOL Time Warner is just using the legal system and their power to make as much money as possible without regard to what the song means to us as a culture. So... if I get together with friends and sing happy birthday in a restaurant, I'm not going to worry about paying a fee for a public performance of a song. That's totally ridiculous. If we videotape the moment, and I post it to my videoblog, I am also not going to worry about it. Of course, I don't want the wrath of AOL Time Warner lawyers upon me... I make less than $20k a year, how in the world could I afford to defend myself in a lawsuit BUT A HA! I am not alone. I'm sure if I got a seizt and desist letter from AOL, I could contact American University and all these non-profits working on fair use and they would jump on the case, donating their services and taking care of the thing for me. It would be a great case to see happen, and could mean breaking the hold of these ridiculous money-grabbers!!

Meanwhile, at the same time, there are many examples where it's grey as to whether or not I have to get permission to use someone else's work, but I decide I want to, because it's the right thing to do -- it's the respectful thing to do. I can use my own judgment, and not worry about the law. If a local band is selling their first album, it's great exposure for them if I use their song in my videoblog. I'd make sure I credit them, and link to their band website where people can find out where they are playing and buy their album. If I knew them, I'd probably let them know / ask them if it's okay. But for me, if I didn't know them and didn't have time / felt too shy to find them, I'd use their music anyway. It is great exposure for them -- if Good Morning America wanted to do a spot on them, crediting them, but without paying them, I'm sure they'd be thrilled!!! 

If however, I had some project going where I was going to make money -- like I'm selling videos, and I take their music, and especially don't credit them, but rather take advantage of a situation and even try to pass off their art as my own -- well then I'm doing something wrong. I say if it feels like stealing, then don't do it!! Even if you could fight off a lawsuit and win. It's still wrong.

But to your original question -- does every home-movie maker who wants to use a mainstream song off a CD for their photo slide show or movie of their kids have to worry about copyright violation?? I say no. Apply created iPhoto and iMovie to let people do this very easily, and did demonstrations of this very kind of project, and no one said, hey you have to get Madonna's permission to use her song with those pictures of your dog. I think publishing the movie to the web is just a step further... and still should be allowed.

Again, there is no law drawing the line in the digital sand. And every record label (all 5 of them) will probably have a different policy about what to do about this. There may be some band or some label that eventually decides to do something about this and sue. But I say, bring it on -- what happened to freedom?? We have to defend our rights if we have any hope of keeping any.

jen




[videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-19 Thread Ms. Kitka
People... THIS is why you never hear any new music being played by
crew members on Star Trek...



--- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Jen Simmons [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 On Jan 19, 2006, at 7:35 AM, Crystal wrote:
 
   Okay but how about Music? If I publish lets say stillshots with
   background music of my favorite artist that goes along with the
   pictures...and I have the CD so its not like I stole it off the net.
   Republish on the net...so every can see it. But yet its mainly for
   Friends and Family
 
   is that breaking any laws?
 
   I mean its my CD so why can't i put MY pictures to music and share
   it with people??
 
 The answer: no one knows yet.
 The laws regarding use of copyrighted works were written to be 
 intentionally vague. The plan was for the law to have a large grey area 
 so a judge could decide on a case-by-case basis what's right and what's 
 not. The world has changed a lot, very quickly, however, and this new 
 world we live in is, well, new! What does it mean for a ''regular 
 person to make a movie using protected work and put it on the internet 
 for a handful people to see?? I don't think a case like that has ever 
 come before a court for a decision, and since the laws passed by 
 legislators and previous court cases don't deal with this issue, then 
 there is no law about it yet.
 
 Meanwhile not only has the internet changed broadcasting, and computers 
 have broken-down barriers to entry to creating films and media... but 
 also corporations have taken over more and more, buying up the rights 
 to more and more.
 
 Really I think there are two issues here:
 what is legal, and
 what is respectful.
 
 I see no need to respect the copyright on Happy Birthday (which was 
 owned by AOL/Time Warner... who's got it now?) If you are making a 
 feature film to distribute in theaters, you have to buy the rights to 
 use the song -- and it's incredibly expensive. The song was written in 
 1893 by Mildred and Patty Hill, with different words, and so the 
 artists are long gone. AOL Time Warner is just using the legal system 
 and their power to make as much money as possible without regard to 
 what the song means to us as a culture. So... if I get together with 
 friends and sing happy birthday in a restaurant, I'm not going to worry 
 about paying a fee for a public performance of a song. That's totally 
 ridiculous. If we videotape the moment, and I post it to my videoblog, 
 I am also not going to worry about it. Of course, I don't want the 
 wrath of AOL Time Warner lawyers upon me... I make less than $20k a 
 year, how in the world could I afford to defend myself in a lawsuit 
 BUT A HA! I am not alone. I'm sure if I got a seizt and desist letter 
 from AOL, I could contact American University and all these non-profits 
 working on fair use and they would jump on the case, donating their 
 services and taking care of the thing for me. It would be a great case 
 to see happen, and could mean breaking the hold of these ridiculous 
 money-grabbers!!
 
 Meanwhile, at the same time, there are many examples where it's grey as 
 to whether or not I have to get permission to use someone else's 
 work, but I decide I want to, because it's the right thing to do -- 
 it's the respectful thing to do. I can use my own judgment, and not 
 worry about the law. If a local band is selling their first album, 
 it's great exposure for them if I use their song in my videoblog. I'd 
 make sure I credit them, and link to their band website where people 
 can find out where they are playing and buy their album. If I knew 
 them, I'd probably let them know / ask them if it's okay. But for me, 
 if I didn't know them and didn't have time / felt too shy to find them, 
 I'd use their music anyway. It is great exposure for them -- if Good 
 Morning America wanted to do a spot on them, crediting them, but 
 without paying them, I'm sure they'd be thrilled!!!
 
 If however, I had some project going where I was going to make money -- 
 like I'm selling videos, and I take their music, and especially don't 
 credit them, but rather take advantage of a situation and even try to 
 pass off their art as my own -- well then I'm doing something wrong. I 
 say if it feels like stealing, then don't do it!! Even if you could 
 fight off a lawsuit and win. It's still wrong.
 
 But to your original question -- does every home-movie maker who wants 
 to use a mainstream song off a CD for their photo slide show or movie 
 of their kids have to worry about copyright violation?? I say no. Apply 
 created iPhoto and iMovie to let people do this very easily, and did 
 demonstrations of this very kind of project, and no one said, hey you 
 have to get Madonna's permission to use her song with those pictures of 
 your dog. I think publishing the movie to the web is just a step 
 further... and still should be allowed.
 
 Again, there is no law drawing the line in the digital sand. And every 
 record label 

RE: [videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-19 Thread Mrs. Ours MA PLPC
Wow,
I guess this is my first Two cents post...

My humble opinion is simply this:  I will post my itty bitty vlog on the big 
world wide web... I will give credit where credit is due at all times 
providing URL's, Artist names, and core information. I will not say I wrote 
this! or I made This! if I didn't and will say who did whenever humanly 
possible.  I will also not charge people money of any kind to access or 
utilize my material or the material I share with others via my 
vlog/blog/Insert favorite form of media sharing mode here. Although I won't 
use Metallica stuff... (sorry bad cheap shot at Lars there).  If some famous 
person wants to come and take what wealth I have they're welcome to the 
beatup 68 chevy and the four kids it's all the wealth in the world I 
have.

I believe unless the big guys just get a wild hair and wanna crucify some 
poor mid-western housewife and mother of fourI'm probably safe enough 
being honestly dishonest?

Okay.. That's all I got
The end

From: Ms. Kitka [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Reply-To: videoblogging@yahoogroups.com
To: videoblogging@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material
Date: Thu, 19 Jan 2006 22:02:18 -

People... THIS is why you never hear any new music being played by
crew members on Star Trek...



--- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Jen Simmons [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
 
  On Jan 19, 2006, at 7:35 AM, Crystal wrote:
 
Okay but how about Music? If I publish lets say stillshots with
background music of my favorite artist that goes along with the
pictures...and I have the CD so its not like I stole it off the net.
Republish on the net...so every can see it. But yet its mainly for
Friends and Family
  
is that breaking any laws?
  
I mean its my CD so why can't i put MY pictures to music and share
it with people??
 
  The answer: no one knows yet.
  The laws regarding use of copyrighted works were written to be
  intentionally vague. The plan was for the law to have a large grey area
  so a judge could decide on a case-by-case basis what's right and what's
  not. The world has changed a lot, very quickly, however, and this new
  world we live in is, well, new! What does it mean for a ''regular
  person to make a movie using protected work and put it on the internet
  for a handful people to see?? I don't think a case like that has ever
  come before a court for a decision, and since the laws passed by
  legislators and previous court cases don't deal with this issue, then
  there is no law about it yet.
 
  Meanwhile not only has the internet changed broadcasting, and computers
  have broken-down barriers to entry to creating films and media... but
  also corporations have taken over more and more, buying up the rights
  to more and more.
 
  Really I think there are two issues here:
  what is legal, and
  what is respectful.
 
  I see no need to respect the copyright on Happy Birthday (which was
  owned by AOL/Time Warner... who's got it now?) If you are making a
  feature film to distribute in theaters, you have to buy the rights to
  use the song -- and it's incredibly expensive. The song was written in
  1893 by Mildred and Patty Hill, with different words, and so the
  artists are long gone. AOL Time Warner is just using the legal system
  and their power to make as much money as possible without regard to
  what the song means to us as a culture. So... if I get together with
  friends and sing happy birthday in a restaurant, I'm not going to worry
  about paying a fee for a public performance of a song. That's totally
  ridiculous. If we videotape the moment, and I post it to my videoblog,
  I am also not going to worry about it. Of course, I don't want the
  wrath of AOL Time Warner lawyers upon me... I make less than $20k a
  year, how in the world could I afford to defend myself in a lawsuit
  BUT A HA! I am not alone. I'm sure if I got a seizt and desist letter
  from AOL, I could contact American University and all these non-profits
  working on fair use and they would jump on the case, donating their
  services and taking care of the thing for me. It would be a great case
  to see happen, and could mean breaking the hold of these ridiculous
  money-grabbers!!
 
  Meanwhile, at the same time, there are many examples where it's grey as
  to whether or not I have to get permission to use someone else's
  work, but I decide I want to, because it's the right thing to do --
  it's the respectful thing to do. I can use my own judgment, and not
  worry about the law. If a local band is selling their first album,
  it's great exposure for them if I use their song in my videoblog. I'd
  make sure I credit them, and link to their band website where people
  can find out where they are playing and buy their album. If I knew
  them, I'd probably let them know / ask them if it's okay. But for me,
  if I didn't know them and didn't have time / felt too shy to find them

Re: [videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-19 Thread Andreas Haugstrup
On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 14:28:16 +0100, Jen Simmons [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 Thanks for letting us know about copyright law are Australia. Anyone
 else?? Other places??

The basics of Copyright are covered in the Berne Convention. These basics  
are shared by the 160 countries who have agreed to follow the convention  
(yes, I had to look up the number). This solves many issues alone. There  
are variations from country to country of course. Variations in the extent  
of Fair Use rights (Fair Use is not as well defined in Denmark for  
example) and variations in damages (bigger in the US than in Denmark) and  
so on.

 This does bring up interesting points -- the internet is global, so how
 does the law or practices of individual countries come into play? Since
 the corporate conglomerate has become more powerful than any country
 and more rights-laden than any individual, and passes right over
 borders as if they aren't there -- how does this reality affect what we
 as artists do or don't do? Does U.S. copyright law cover the globe in a
 way, since most global corporations are run by U.S. owners (with an
 off-shore address to evade taxes of course)?

You can only be sued for breaking the law in the country you reside.  
Thankfully US corporations can't extend messed up American laws to my  
country (and vice versa). I have yet to hear of extraditions for civil  
suits!

- Andreas
-- 
URL: http://www.solitude.dk/ 
Commentary on media, communication, culture and technology.


 
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Re: [videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-19 Thread Andreas Haugstrup
On Thu, 19 Jan 2006 18:11:00 +0100, Carl Weaver [EMAIL PROTECTED]  
wrote:

 And who is in the video doesn't have anything to do with it. The  
 copyright is
 owned by the person or company that created the piece. Just like the  
 copyright
 of a portrait I shoot as a photographer is owned by me, not the person I
 photographed. I may give someone else permission to use the picture or  
 not. But
 if you decide to republish it without permission, we have a problem.  
 There are
 also all sorts of legalities involved with whether I have permission  
 from the
 person to use their likeness and image for certain purposes, but that  
 person
 does not own the copyright to the image without my assigning it to them.

You're right that who is in the video doesn't have any relation to  
copyrights, but that's not the same as it doesn't matter. That's why a  
videoblogger can't just learn copyright laws, and again that's why I keep  
recommending college text books on mass media law and not just a website  
with bullet points about Fair Use.

Misappropriation laws (using another's likeness for profit) and privacy  
laws *do* matter. They just aren't copyright-related. Even if you own the  
copyright on a video it doesn't mean you can use the video for anything  
you want.

- Andreas
-- 
URL: http://www.solitude.dk/ 
Commentary on media, communication, culture and technology.


 
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[videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-19 Thread Crystal
Yes I see your point and I agree with you 100 percentthe artist 
i used was Creed and they are no longer together as a group

so I dunno what that meansbut anyway...

I agree with everything you just said (sorry its been a long day!)


Crystal


--- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Jen Simmons [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 On Jan 19, 2006, at 7:35 AM, Crystal wrote:
 
   Okay but how about Music? If I publish lets say stillshots with
   background music of my favorite artist that goes along with the
   pictures...and I have the CD so its not like I stole it off the 
net.
   Republish on the net...so every can see it. But yet its 
mainly for
   Friends and Family
 
   is that breaking any laws?
 
   I mean its my CD so why can't i put MY pictures to music and 
share
   it with people??
 
 The answer: no one knows yet.
 The laws regarding use of copyrighted works were written to be 
 intentionally vague. The plan was for the law to have a large grey 
area 
 so a judge could decide on a case-by-case basis what's right and 
what's 
 not. The world has changed a lot, very quickly, however, and this 
new 
 world we live in is, well, new! What does it mean for a ''regular 
 person to make a movie using protected work and put it on the 
internet 
 for a handful people to see?? I don't think a case like that has 
ever 
 come before a court for a decision, and since the laws passed by 
 legislators and previous court cases don't deal with this issue, 
then 
 there is no law about it yet.
 
 Meanwhile not only has the internet changed broadcasting, and 
computers 
 have broken-down barriers to entry to creating films and media... 
but 
 also corporations have taken over more and more, buying up the 
rights 
 to more and more.
 
 Really I think there are two issues here:
 what is legal, and
 what is respectful.
 
 I see no need to respect the copyright on Happy Birthday (which 
was 
 owned by AOL/Time Warner... who's got it now?) If you are making a 
 feature film to distribute in theaters, you have to buy the rights 
to 
 use the song -- and it's incredibly expensive. The song was 
written in 
 1893 by Mildred and Patty Hill, with different words, and so the 
 artists are long gone. AOL Time Warner is just using the legal 
system 
 and their power to make as much money as possible without regard 
to 
 what the song means to us as a culture. So... if I get together 
with 
 friends and sing happy birthday in a restaurant, I'm not going to 
worry 
 about paying a fee for a public performance of a song. That's 
totally 
 ridiculous. If we videotape the moment, and I post it to my 
videoblog, 
 I am also not going to worry about it. Of course, I don't want the 
 wrath of AOL Time Warner lawyers upon me... I make less than $20k 
a 
 year, how in the world could I afford to defend myself in a 
lawsuit 
 BUT A HA! I am not alone. I'm sure if I got a seizt and desist 
letter 
 from AOL, I could contact American University and all these non-
profits 
 working on fair use and they would jump on the case, donating 
their 
 services and taking care of the thing for me. It would be a great 
case 
 to see happen, and could mean breaking the hold of these 
ridiculous 
 money-grabbers!!
 
 Meanwhile, at the same time, there are many examples where it's 
grey as 
 to whether or not I have to get permission to use someone else's 
 work, but I decide I want to, because it's the right thing to do --
 
 it's the respectful thing to do. I can use my own judgment, and 
not 
 worry about the law. If a local band is selling their first 
album, 
 it's great exposure for them if I use their song in my videoblog. 
I'd 
 make sure I credit them, and link to their band website where 
people 
 can find out where they are playing and buy their album. If I knew 
 them, I'd probably let them know / ask them if it's okay. But for 
me, 
 if I didn't know them and didn't have time / felt too shy to find 
them, 
 I'd use their music anyway. It is great exposure for them -- if 
Good 
 Morning America wanted to do a spot on them, crediting them, but 
 without paying them, I'm sure they'd be thrilled!!!
 
 If however, I had some project going where I was going to make 
money -- 
 like I'm selling videos, and I take their music, and especially 
don't 
 credit them, but rather take advantage of a situation and even try 
to 
 pass off their art as my own -- well then I'm doing something 
wrong. I 
 say if it feels like stealing, then don't do it!! Even if you 
could 
 fight off a lawsuit and win. It's still wrong.
 
 But to your original question -- does every home-movie maker who 
wants 
 to use a mainstream song off a CD for their photo slide show or 
movie 
 of their kids have to worry about copyright violation?? I say no. 
Apply 
 created iPhoto and iMovie to let people do this very easily, and 
did 
 demonstrations of this very kind of project, and no one said, hey 
you 
 have to get Madonna's permission to use her song with those 

[videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-18 Thread Crystal
--- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, nikadigital [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 hello
 
 i'm new to the yahoo group wanted to say hey. glad to be here.
 
 i may not have all of the facts, but i think i get the jest of it.
 i am no expert but thier is a good reference book from focal press
  media law for producers .  nolo press has a couple of good books
 on copyright law and getting permission.  what i have read is that 
 you
 must get clearance from the artist, songwriter, plubisher, record 
 lable, also have broadcast rights, and synchroniztion rights and 
 probably some more i can't think of at the moment. it doesn't matter
 if you are making money or doing this for charity. you must secure
 clearance.
 
 i havn't posted any projects yet, but i plan to use orignal works 
or 
 royalty free music that is available.
 
 thanks for having me in your yahoo group.
 
 nikadigital



If My Main purpose of my video's are to Show family far away aross 
the U.S. not to gain money, not for chairty but just to make a video 
more interesting by putting music behind it then what is the big 
deal..if I bought the CD in the store for 20 bucks or so...to use 
that song in my video for the main purpose of family and friends to 
view...???







 
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[videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-18 Thread nikadigital
--- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Crystal [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
wrote:

 --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, nikadigital [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
wrote:
 
  hello
  
  i'm new to the yahoo group wanted to say hey. glad to be here.
  
  i may not have all of the facts, but i think i get the jest of 
it.
  i am no expert but thier is a good reference book from focal 
press
   media law for producers .  nolo press has a couple of good 
books
  on copyright law and getting permission.  what i have read is 
that 
  you
  must get clearance from the artist, songwriter, plubisher, 
record 
  lable, also have broadcast rights, and synchroniztion rights and 
  probably some more i can't think of at the moment. it doesn't 
matter
  if you are making money or doing this for charity. you must 
secure
  clearance.
  
  i havn't posted any projects yet, but i plan to use orignal 
works 
 or 
  royalty free music that is available.
  
  thanks for having me in your yahoo group.
  
  nikadigital
 
 
 
 If My Main purpose of my video's are to Show family far away aross 
 the U.S. not to gain money, not for chairty but just to make a 
video 
 more interesting by putting music behind it then what is the big 
 deal..if I bought the CD in the store for 20 bucks or so...to use 
 that song in my video for the main purpose of family and friends 
to 
 view...???

i think they call this legal issues. the ball park price for using a 
song is one million dollars.





 
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[videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-18 Thread nikadigital
--- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Crystal [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
wrote:

 --- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, nikadigital [EMAIL PROTECTED] 
wrote:
 
  hello
  
  i'm new to the yahoo group wanted to say hey. glad to be here.
  
  i may not have all of the facts, but i think i get the jest of 
it.
  i am no expert but thier is a good reference book from focal 
press
   media law for producers .  nolo press has a couple of good 
books
  on copyright law and getting permission.  what i have read is 
that 
  you
  must get clearance from the artist, songwriter, plubisher, 
record 
  lable, also have broadcast rights, and synchroniztion rights and 
  probably some more i can't think of at the moment. it doesn't 
matter
  if you are making money or doing this for charity. you must 
secure
  clearance.
  
  i havn't posted any projects yet, but i plan to use orignal 
works 
 or 
  royalty free music that is available.
  
  thanks for having me in your yahoo group.
  
  nikadigital
 
 
 
 If My Main purpose of my video's are to Show family far away aross 
 the U.S. not to gain money, not for chairty but just to make a 
video 
 more interesting by putting music behind it then what is the big 
 deal..if I bought the CD in the store for 20 bucks or so...to use 
 that song in my video for the main purpose of family and friends 
to 
 view...???

i forgot to mention this is for pulblic performance. if it is for 
family or friends being shown in your house or a dirct link to your 
video viewed by family or friends then thier isn't a big issue. but 
if you post this video on the web for the world to see, then that is 
a public prerformance.





 
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[videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-18 Thread Ms. Kitka
I agree with Jen... I've been debating this all evening over the phone
with my bf in New York... man our long distance bill is gonna suck...

Kitka


--- In videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Jen Simmons [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:

 On Jan 18, 2006, at 6:47 PM, nikadigital wrote:
 
  it doesn't matter
   if you are making money or doing this for charity. you must secure
   clearance.
 
 This just isn't true. There are many times when you can use material  
 that is owned by others without their permission. I can do a story  
 about Home Depot, for example, use their logo, film in front of their  
 store and talk all about them without their permission. Maybe I'm  
 uncovering bad practices, and of course they might want to stop me,
but  
 they can't. I can create a piece about Bush, using footage of Bush,  
 without his permission -- I can even take that footage from CNN, right  
 off the tv, without CNN's permission (I did this...  
 http://www.bushforpeace.us and distributed the piece all over).
 
 It's called FAIR USE, and there are many many times people can use  
 footage created or owned by others, images and trademarks and public  
 appearances and such.
 
 SO PLEASE -- let's not censor ourselves, or scare each other into not  
 doing some great work out of a misunderstanding of what we can and  
 can't do legally.
 
 We all have a lot more in the way of rights than people are exercising  
 in this lawsuit-fearful / pro-corporate-rights and  
 anti-people-(especially-artist)-rights climate!
 
 For more, read / watch about fair use:
 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/fairuse.htm
 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/rock/pressconf.htm
 http://www.centerforsocialmedia.org/rock/backgrounddocs/ 
 bestpractices.pdf
 
 FAIR USE IS VERY VERY IMPORTANT!!!
 
   - Jen
 
 jenSimmons
 http://www.emergingawareness.org
 http://www.inclinationsthemovie.com
 http://www.jensimmons.com







 
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Re: [videoblogging] Re: legal rights of copyrighted material

2006-01-18 Thread Kath O'Donnell



Jen, I'm guessing you live in USA?just for info for any Aussies on the list who haven't already seen this, here's a fair use - myths  misconceptions document from Australian Copyright Centre ( 
http://www.copyright.org.au ) as there are some differences between Aus  US lawshttp://www.copyright.org.au/specialinterest/G091.pdf
cheersKath--- In 
videoblogging@yahoogroups.com, Jen Simmons [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: It's called FAIR USE, and there are many many times people can use footage created or owned by others, images and trademarks and public
 appearances and such.-- http://www.aliak.com


  




  
  
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