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“A company is copyright-claiming every video I have ever made”

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Re: “A company is copyright-claiming every video I have ever made”

#71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let's go a step further: imagine living in a new company town that Google bought/built. Three DMCA-claims and you're in violation of TOS, all your content (including what's in your apartment) is deleted and you're kicked out of town and driven to the town limits. I'm sure there will still be people here who are quite happy with that because "it's not the government doing it" and they reckon they're not next in line f…

If Google builds a town in the U.S., they're still subject to state and federal laws, which have protections for tenants and requirements for due process. (If it's really a company town, then the company would be the municipal government.)

Not really. See West Virginia.

Re: “A company is copyright-claiming every video I have ever made”

#72
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The copyright concept is fine. Creators should enjoy the ownership of the products of their labor. The problem is with the youtube's implementation. There are no negative effects for the large players who falsely claim copyright.

Copyright is not fine... it lasts way too long.

Which has nothing to do with copyright the concept but our particular current implementation of it.

Re: “A company is copyright-claiming every video I have ever made”

#73
post #47
post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In some cases, YouTube is now explicitly rejecting DMCA "safe harbor" protection. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHtHpC6nc_E From https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/3045545?hl=en (emphasis mine) > Videos removed or blocked due to YouTube's contractual obligations > YouTube enters into agreements with certain music copyright owners to allow use of their sound recordings and musical compositions. > In exchange…

That's not how that law works. The safe harbor protection in the DMCA is for Youtube, not their customers. It protects them from legal action by copyright holders as long as they honor the process spelled out in the statute. There's absolutly no law requiring Youtube to host whatever content you want them to. Nor should there be, really.

> It protects them from legal action by copyright holders as long as they honor the process spelled out in the statute.

Yes, that's what I was referring to; YouTube is now saying in some of their emails[1] about taking down a video that they are not intending to forward the counter-notification to the claimant, which they are required under 17 USC 512(g)(2)(B) to do if they want to limit their liability as a service provider.

They don't have to put the video back up or do anything when someone sends a counter notification, but that means they have full copyright liability for that video. They can now be sued directly for violating copyright for each copy they made when someone viewed the video prior to when it was taken down.

In the video in my previous comment, a copyright lawyer discusses the situation. He thinks the big music industry companies that are involved in these agreements ("YouTube enters into agreements with certain music copyright owners") must have indemnified YouTube for any legal costs they might face in exchange for the power to anonymously kill videos without question or appeal.

[1] https://twitter.com/adamneelybass/status/1124734826119090176

Re: “A company is copyright-claiming every video I have ever made”

#74
post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think you answered your own question. YouTube is running the risk of turning into a sterile, corporate mall. Soon enough an edgier, more tolerant alternative will pop up and start attracting eyeballs.

Recoding and hosting and transmitting video is so expensive that I can assure you no alternative will ever pop up.

>Recoding and hosting and transmitting video is so expensive that I can assure you Youtube does not exist

Many such platforms exist; starting a new one from scratch without monetization scale would be difficult, but certainly not impossible. The real expense when scaling would seem to me to be moderation of illegal content actually, since you have to pay people for that.

Re: “A company is copyright-claiming every video I have ever made”

#75
post #48
post #3

The only way to fix this is to let you sue for damages + lawyer fees. As it is right now, you can earn lots of money by DMCA:ing popular creators, monetize on their content for a while (or a long time if they don't have a friend at Google who can escalate the issue).

What happens if there's two claims? Could a YouTuber do something along the lines of just lodging claims against their own videos in order to prevent others from lodging claims?

Jim Sterling talking about including footage from multiple companies as a "copyright deadlock":

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cK8i6aMG9VM

Re: “A company is copyright-claiming every video I have ever made”

#76
This really sucks. But just because he has gotten a "license" from a musician friend does not mean that they can use/copy any sounds or melodies, and the company attacking him might have some kind of valid claim. Just a quick check of the first video I found from him had an intro which could be argued to be similar to George Harrison, Got My Mind Set On You for example.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2IVj4K2hLE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZwjdGSqO0k

Re: “A company is copyright-claiming every video I have ever made”

#78
post #63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Copyright is not fine... it lasts way too long.

Which has nothing to do with copyright the concept but our particular current implementation of it.

> The problem is with the youtube's implementation

it is not.. it is with the existing laws

Re: “A company is copyright-claiming every video I have ever made”

#79
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem here has nothing to do with the DMCA. The problem is that Google has implemented its own system that has little to do with the DMCA. If it were handled the DMCA way, here is how it would go. 1. Someone complains to the hosting service alleging that you are violating their copyright. 2. The hosting provider takes down the material and notifies you. If you do not want to dispute this, that is the end of it.…

If the claimant takes you to court and loses, there is no penalty, I assume? There's punitive damages in the US - any chance that would be applied to such a case?

As far as the court case goes, it's basically just like it would be if the complainant had simply sued you directly for copyright infringement. If you win, the court can award you costs and attorney fees. I'm not sure how they decide whether or not to do so.

A claimant trying to use DMCA where it is not justifiable faces a couple other deterrents.

First, unless the claimant is representing themselves in the case, they are going to have an attorney, and that attorney is going to take into account Rule 11(b) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure [1]. If the claimant doesn't have a fairly reasonable case, he is going to have trouble finding an attorney.

Second, knowingly including false information on a DMCA takedown notice is perjury. The claimant can face criminal charges for that (although it would probably have to involve someone doing this on a large scale to get Federal prosecutors to prosecute).

Knowingly filing a false DMCA takedown also makes you liable for civil damages, including costs and attorney fees, incurred by the target of the takedown notice, the hosting provider, and in the case where neither the complainant or the target are the copyright owner, the actual copyright owner.

If the complainant who knowingly files a false takedown notice actually follows through and sue you for infringement, I'd guess that the damages due to you for the false notice would be handled there.

If the complainant isn't that stupid, and drops the matter after the notice and counter-notice, you could sue them over the false notice.

[1] https://www.law.cornell.edu/rules/frcp/rule_11

Re: “A company is copyright-claiming every video I have ever made”

#80

This really sucks. But just because he has gotten a "license" from a musician friend does not mean that they can use/copy any sounds or melodies, and the company attacking him might have some kind of valid claim. Just a quick check of the first video I found from him had an intro which could be argued to be similar to George Harrison, Got My Mind Set On You for example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A2IVj4K2hLE htt…

It sounds nothing like George Harrison's song. If similarities that superficial were enough for a copyright claim, then virtually every song in existence would be in violation of someone else's copyright. Neither the rhythm nor the melody is the same.
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