4 ms·

Isn't that a bit thorny since most of the content is copyrighted...

devonkim 9y ago
My understanding of the Tumblr porn content is that they’re usually small clips and I believe under so many seconds doesn’t count under copyright infringement laws. However, nothing would be a problem if it was original content that had waivers and age of consent forms and such on file.
- kibwen 9y ago
  > I believe under so many seconds doesn’t count under copyright infringement laws Careful here. This appears to be referring to the concept of fair use, but firstly there are multiple criteria used to judge fair use (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use#U.S._fair_use_factors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use#U.S._fair_use_factors), secondly these criteria are (intentionally) subjective and up to a judge's interpretation, and thirdly fair use is US-only.
  - wyager 9y ago
    > thirdly fair use is US-only. That seems fine. In the interest of their userbase, companies should aim for the least copyright-damaged user experience possible; this means picking a single country (ideally one with liberal copyright law) and ignoring copyright law in other countries they aren’t based out of. If countries want to force their censorship standards, they can at least be honest about it and block the website (rather than silently deflecting the responsibility of censorship to the website itself).
  - ryanplant-au 9y ago
    The term fair use is US-only but many nations have similar concepts or concepts that overlap with it. Australia's 'fair dealing' policy allows for the use of copyrighted material without seeking approval if its purpose is in satire, research, reviewing, media criticism, or news reporting, for example. What's notable there is that length or amount used aren't as important, which has some positive effects but also some important negative ones (it would not be possible to create Google in Australia because taking the summary snippets and image thumbnails has no legal justification). Interestingly in the last big debate over loosening Australian copyright law and adopting broader fair use, the American MPAA was the biggest funder of opposition efforts.
mschuster91 9y ago
Most on porn sites is, though.
- kristofferR 9y ago
  Most on the internet too. Every image meme and reuploads of other images are basically also copyright violations.
  - philipov 9y ago
    Everything you say, and everything you think, is a copyright infringement. Pay up!
  - lugg 9y ago
    This doesn't mean a company Tumblr's size can ignore it. Reddit, Google, Facebook, et al all need to consider these things as they operate. I'm not saying they can't skirt the laws a little bit and get away with it, all I'm saying is they need to have awareness.
    - kristofferR 9y ago
      Nah, they just need to be vigilant about DMCA requests. Due to the Safe Harbor rules in US copyright laws they don't really need to remove copyrighted content proactively. There's tons of subreddits exclusively dedicated to piracy that they don't care about.
jstarfish 9y ago
Not your problem when the content is user-uploaded.
- jiggunjer 9y ago
  tell that to piratebay
  - thaumasiotes 9y ago
    The content uploaded to the pirate bay wasn't (isn't) copyrighted either.
  - jstarfish 9y ago
    No. They brought the heat on themselves when they decided to mock DMCA requests and cease and desists instead of accommodating them. There's a reason 4chan, Reddit, imgur, Tumblr and its ilk all still exist in the age of copyright. None of them produce their own content-- it's all user submitted, and mostly in violation of some copyright or another. Generally speaking, my understanding is that hosts aren't liable for user-uploaded content unless they curate or promote it (deletion notwithstanding). That changes their role to that of a content distributor/publisher instead of a mere platform. This is why backpage's CEO got arrested for human trafficking whereas craigslist's did not-- when challenged craigslist shut down its prostitution ads, but Backpage actively reworded and posted them and in doing so became their publisher.

My understanding of the Tumblr porn content is that they’re usually small clips and I believe under so many seconds doesn’t count under copyright infringement laws. However, nothing would be a problem if it was original content that had waivers and age of consent forms and such on file.

kibwen 9y ago
> I believe under so many seconds doesn’t count under copyright infringement laws Careful here. This appears to be referring to the concept of fair use, but firstly there are multiple criteria used to judge fair use (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use#U.S._fair_use_factors https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fair_use#U.S._fair_use_factors), secondly these criteria are (intentionally) subjective and up to a judge's interpretation, and thirdly fair use is US-only.
- wyager 9y ago
  > thirdly fair use is US-only. That seems fine. In the interest of their userbase, companies should aim for the least copyright-damaged user experience possible; this means picking a single country (ideally one with liberal copyright law) and ignoring copyright law in other countries they aren’t based out of. If countries want to force their censorship standards, they can at least be honest about it and block the website (rather than silently deflecting the responsibility of censorship to the website itself).
- ryanplant-au 9y ago
  The term fair use is US-only but many nations have similar concepts or concepts that overlap with it. Australia's 'fair dealing' policy allows for the use of copyrighted material without seeking approval if its purpose is in satire, research, reviewing, media criticism, or news reporting, for example. What's notable there is that length or amount used aren't as important, which has some positive effects but also some important negative ones (it would not be possible to create Google in Australia because taking the summary snippets and image thumbnails has no legal justification). Interestingly in the last big debate over loosening Australian copyright law and adopting broader fair use, the American MPAA was the biggest funder of opposition efforts.

mschuster91 9y ago

Most on porn sites is, though.

kristofferR 9y ago
Most on the internet too. Every image meme and reuploads of other images are basically also copyright violations.
- philipov 9y ago
  Everything you say, and everything you think, is a copyright infringement. Pay up!
- lugg 9y ago
  This doesn't mean a company Tumblr's size can ignore it. Reddit, Google, Facebook, et al all need to consider these things as they operate. I'm not saying they can't skirt the laws a little bit and get away with it, all I'm saying is they need to have awareness.
  - kristofferR 9y ago
    Nah, they just need to be vigilant about DMCA requests. Due to the Safe Harbor rules in US copyright laws they don't really need to remove copyrighted content proactively. There's tons of subreddits exclusively dedicated to piracy that they don't care about.

jstarfish 9y ago

Not your problem when the content is user-uploaded.

jiggunjer 9y ago
tell that to piratebay
- thaumasiotes 9y ago
  The content uploaded to the pirate bay wasn't (isn't) copyrighted either.
- jstarfish 9y ago
  No. They brought the heat on themselves when they decided to mock DMCA requests and cease and desists instead of accommodating them. There's a reason 4chan, Reddit, imgur, Tumblr and its ilk all still exist in the age of copyright. None of them produce their own content-- it's all user submitted, and mostly in violation of some copyright or another. Generally speaking, my understanding is that hosts aren't liable for user-uploaded content unless they curate or promote it (deletion notwithstanding). That changes their role to that of a content distributor/publisher instead of a mere platform. This is why backpage's CEO got arrested for human trafficking whereas craigslist's did not-- when challenged craigslist shut down its prostitution ads, but Backpage actively reworded and posted them and in doing so became their publisher.