YouTube and copyright infringement

[_Abyssinia]

At some point, common sense needs to start playing a role. If the person does not have immediate proof of permission (e.g. a link in the video description), it seems abundantly obvious they don’t have it. Of course, things like fair use and general agreements (e.g. with video games) can be taken into account.

I understand where you are getting at, but there may be examples on YouTube where someone who uploads a video that they didn’t create but has got permission from the content owner to upload the video, but the content owner didn’t ask the uploader to provide a link etc. in the description box. How can I determine the copyright status of the video when it ain’t always clear…?

Fair Use is a bit of a mind field to me. For one video you may get ten people on one side arguing it’s Fair Use and ten people on the other side arguing it’s not Fair Use. How can I interpret it?

 

[Tis_Bearself]

As part of our digital age, it seems like people should be expected to understand at least the basics of the DMCA, just as we would be expected to understand the basics of any law we’re bound to.

I disagree. On top of that, copyright law, if you’re looking at it for moral purposes, is not just the DMCA. It is a worldwide system of law that also pertains to other countries and involves moral principles that may not be adequately captured in just the DMCA. The DMCA is not the be all, end all, and end of intellectual rights law that may pertain to some video on Youtube. Furthermore, the DMCA is a tool for rights owners to use to protect themselves, so there is no need for an end user to be aware of it any more than there’s a need for an end user to be aware of the laws pertaining to operating a business on the street that they might enter and make a purchase. They are neither the business operator nor the rights owner.

But there’s always going to be people who want to find new sins to accuse either themselves or others of, so have at it if you wish. I’m out.