[Dixielandjazz] YouTube and copyright laws

[Robert Ringwald]

This from another email list that I belong to.

-Bob Ringwald


YouTube and copyright laws  
    Posted by: "David Hajdu" 
dh2145 at gmail.com 
hajdu.david

    Date: Wed Jan 4, 2017 7:39 am ((PST))


I've done a couple of sessions on this issue at Columbia, in collaboration with Jane Ginsburg, a leading intellectual-property scholar, who teaches at the Columbia Law School. Here's the gist of what we've said in class:

Copyright law grants copyright holders the exclusive right to copy, perform, or display their work in public, among other rights. No one else has the right to do those things without the permission of the copyright holder. Posting on Youtube constitutes both copying and public display. Hence, it is not legal for anyone to post copyrighted material on Youtube unless the person is the copyright holder or has permission from the copyright holder. 

Youtube leaves enforcement of copyright in the hands of copyright holders. Unless the copyright holder complains, Youtube allows people to post copyrighted content on the site without permission. However, its policy is not so passive or benign. Youtube requires copyright holders to file a "takedown notice," and the terms for doing so are onerous and loaded in favor of copyright infringers. The reason is obvious: Youtube makes vast amounts of money by selling advertising based on the number of eyeballs the site attracts with its mostly illegal content. 

There's been quite a bit of hub-bub about this, with the jazz composer Maria Schneider leading a movement to challenge the terms of Youtube's takedown provisions. Schneider has testified before Congress on this subject and has written eloquently about it. See: 

http://apssinc.org/newsletters/issue/NWSLTR-16.12.pdf 

In the case Jay has asked about, SNL has been willing to spend the considerable amount of time and money it takes to protect its copyrights. Most others, for various reasons, are less inclined to do so.

Hope this helps. 

Best, David
30


Bob Ringwald piano, Solo, Duo, Trio, Quartet, Quintet 
Fulton Street Jazz Band (Dixieland/Swing)
916/ 806-9551
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