EFF Lawyer Calls YouTube ContentID Worse Than DMCA 219
Richard Koman writes "Warner Music Group is apparently blocking everything YouTube ContentID comes up with as potential infringement. We knew that, but this piece by Jason Perlow shows that they're also spewing out DMCA takedown notices for some pretty clearly fair-use stuff. In my interview with EFF's Fred von Lohmann he talks about how, as bad as the DMCA process is — and it's pretty firmly against fair-use — YouTube's process gives remixers and digital creators even fewer options to assert their right to speak through the fair use of copyright material. While EFF is negotiating with Google and the studios, he suggests that users boycott YouTube if they won't stand up for fair use."
If you can give a convincing fair use argument (Score:5, Informative)
Donate to EFF! (Score:5, Informative)
...he suggests that users boycott YouTube...
Good idea. I also suggest making a donation to EFF [eff.org].
Re:Alternative? (Score:3, Informative)
Vimeo isn't bad.
But it is limiting. Vimeo doesn't allow videos that promote a business, unlike YouTube. Nor does it allow you to post videos licensed from some other author (e.g. under Creative Commons) or videos from the public domain; the uploader has to be the author. This means you can't post, say, video game reviews because you aren't the author of the video game.
Workaround (Score:2, Informative)
I know there are a great many video editing tools out there, but here is how to do it in Sony Vegas.
The theory behind this is simple: music operates in a key. It's a "baseline" set of notes that are usually pleasing when played together. What people usually don't understand is that any song can be played in any key, and it will sound basically the same. When you hear the pitch shift in effect the first time, the song will sound "wrong", but unless you are listening to it side-by-side, it won't matter.
YouTube scans audio using small pieces of WMG songs as "fingerprints". They naturally assume that the songs they are looking for are in the same key as the original recording. By shifting the pitch a quarter step, the audio track will be impossible to match to their fingerprint. Keep in mind that this is a "workaround", that is, you could not rerecord a song in a different key and claim that it doesn't infringe on the original's copyright. But your YouTube videos are safe!
Good luck finding the Pitch Shift feature in your video editing software. It's relatively simple, and should be available in most.
Informational Video with Troy McClure (Score:5, Informative)
The New York Times reports that many YouTube users have found themselves in the same position as high school sophomore Juliet Weybret, who posted a video of herself playing piano and singing "Winter Wonderland."
Troy McClure: Oh, how darling! That is one swinging rendition, Juliet! ... but my grandma and mom play this song for the whole family every Christmas ...
Troy McClure: But today I'm going to teach you the magic of copyrights! Do you know that you're violating the law?
*Juliet shakes her head*
Troy McClure: GOOD! That just might hold up as a defense in court if you look a little more sweeter and innocent. But your fate is up to the RIAA to decide!
Troy McClure: You see, Juliet, copyright law is designed to be much too complex for any normal citizen to understand for a reason: so that you, the average citizen, will always lose. Now where did you learn that song from?
Juliet Wybret: My grandma.
Troy McClure: Jackpot! The RIAA loves to interact with the elderly that can't understand technology. I'm certain she paid a handsome sum to play that song for you though otherwise the two of you are thieves. You're not a thief, are you Juliet?
Juliet Wybret: I don't think so.
Troy McClure: Of course not! You see there is a simple law that states for works created after 1978 copyright lasts 70 years after the last surviving author's death (in the case of joint) and works between 1964 and 1977 are the same except were under the old model which had terms of 28 years starting in 1923 but they had to be renewed in order to enjoy the benefit of the full 95 year term after the last surviving author's death. Easy to remember, right? So you see, Winter Wonderland was composed by Felix Bernard who died in 1944 and the lyrics were written by Richard B. Smith who died in 1935. The good news is that you can publicly say the lyrics after 2030 and play the music on piano after 2039! So you're almost there!
Juliet Wybret: Bu
Troy McClure: Easy there, Juliet! The RIAA's got enough ammo against you as it is. Remember, the Senators and Congresspeople who represent you and your interests want it this way so be an American Patriot and embrace the law! They were only thinking of a fair system for you and the artists when they made these laws. See you next time!
YANAL (Score:4, Informative)
Re:ran across some of this earlier today (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Far better to boycotting would be.... (Score:2, Informative)
And who pray tell will be paying for this?
"put the lawyers against" requires money, and a lot of it. If you are a non-wealthy tier citizen it is not something you can afford and therefore any rights requiring lawyers or legal assistance is something which non-wealthy citizens(aka middle class and lower) are not entitled to, where wealthy citizens are.
This is how the US government works. The wealthy class are taught the language of money and law, and given the ability, clout and means to use it(all three are known by the rest of us as capital or simply money). The non-wealthy classes may aspire to become wealthy, but until they do must not know their place and must be kept in the dark as to how the legal system works. This is simple as the language of the legal and financial system is kept so abstruse and threatening that no one without a constant immersion and direct means to use it would ever be willing to try and navigate it. There are of course colleges that teach these things but the cost is kept at a high enough rate that only the cream who are willing to keep the status safely quo are allowed to pass through the rest are generally given such crushing financial debts that they are never able to wield these instruments against their makers.
We have a wonderful financial system. It has replaced the government without the people ever realizing it. No matter how much is blustered about reform and regulation just look who is in office under those elected. Sure you could have voted for the other guy, because the system is so perfect that he'd be in the same pocket just on the other side of the button. All blame is shifted to abstractions-today called "Red" and "Blue"-and the system works right on around all the outrage and indignaty of the unwealthy undeserving majority, the loser classes, while the winners reap all the benefits.
The RIAA is a good scape goat and fine working piece of this machinery slowly but surely shutting down all of the loser ability to speak out in any meaningful way. In concert with efforts to control content on the internet it will soon be that dissent will be funneled through the tightest of information capillaries where the mere effort to squeak it out will be so much that the individual will be seen as stupid and undeserving of being listened to simply for wasting their valuable time.
1 tweet in libraries of congress (Score:2, Informative)
A video of mine got taken down (Score:4, Informative)
...which clearly had no copyright infringement besides mentioning an auto system cleaning product. I made the video myself. No answer was given to me, only that I had a hit against my account and if I got 3, it would be deleted. There's obviously no way to battle their decision. It sucks.
Re:Crazy Thought! (Score:1, Informative)
They may still submit a DMCA takedown notice againt it, and google will still take it down... ..and now what do you do? Get a laywer? Cry? yeah...
No, you simply submit a counter-notice, and they have to put it back up.
Re:Under Penalty of Perjury... (Score:4, Informative)
The penalties mentioned only apply if you're not actually the copyright holder. They do not apply if your DMCA claim is utter bullshit. In short, you can make false claims utter impunity.
They were very careful to write the law that way so that it would have minimal repercussions for copyright holders when abused, and maximum impact even when abused. For that reason it's about the most heinous and abusive law ever passed in the U.S. as far as favoring corporations over the people.
FYI: The DMCA a major focus www.chillingeffects.org [chillingeffects.org].
Re:Alternative? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Alternative? (Score:3, Informative)
Am I missing something here? I thought under the DMCA they could file a takedown notice, but the content provider could immediately file a counter-notice if it's legal?
Re:Alternative? (Score:3, Informative)
Spend $60/yr on a Smugmug medium-level account. They don't give a damn what you host (so long as it's legal, obviously), and as a bonus they don't compress the hell out of it like Youtube and all of the other flash-based sites.
You lose out on the potential viral aspect of Youtube, but honestly there's so much crap on youtube anyways that it's practically irrelevant. And not having the youtube audience commenting is priceless.
Plenty of places where these videos are legal (Score:1, Informative)
Youtube doesn't have a monopoly on video. If I want music videos, I go to Roxwel [roxwel.com] or Blastro [blastro.com]. There are plenty of sites that specialize in a certain kind of video and do it well and legally.
Re:Patents, Copyright, trademarks and IP (Score:3, Informative)
Another hurdle that hurts the common man is the costs involved in getting a patent, copyright or trademark are at times higher than the expected revenue to be derived by having a patent, copyright or trademark.
Actually you are wrong, at least as far as copyright. All you have to do to copyright something is write it down. That's it. No expense involved. If you've had it published, it is common to send a copy to the library of congress as proof that you did indeed write it, but it is not necessary.
Comment removed (Score:4, Informative)