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I secretly wish I had the background law knowledge to screw with people who attempt to send these letters. I get C&D letters from youtube because my videos alle

I secretly wish I had the background law knowledge to screw with people who attempt to send these letters. I get C&D letters from youtube because my videos allegedly contain copyright music. The funny part is that my videos only contain my voice, which I'm pretty sure is not copyrighted.

dangrossman 13y ago
> The funny part is that my videos only contain my voice, which I'm pretty sure is not copyrighted From the moment you saved your recording of your voice, you were granted copyright protection to that work. The only recordings for which a copyright doesn't exist are those old enough to be in the public domain. Even a recording that infringes someone else's copyright is still protected by its own copyright rights; you can't distribute it without causing damages to the other rights holder, but the author still has exclusive rights to their creation.
cperciva 13y ago
my videos only contain my voice, which I'm pretty sure is not copyrighted Your voice isn't copyrighted, but you might infringe if you were singing a copyrighted song.
- thejacenxpress 13y ago
  It was a joke but I didn't know that (hence my secret desire to learn more about law). They are simple computer tutorials.
- anoncow 13y ago
  >you might infringe if you were singing a copyrighted song Or if your video happens to be one of those which youtube partners don't like. Youtube, apparently, has a deal independent of the DMCA, which allows big media compan(ies) to ban any video on youtube. There was a discussion earlier today on HN, in which I said I still trust Google. This is one incidence where Google could have tried to follow its motto of "Do not be evil". Youtube exists because of DMCA safe harbour. Even though DMCA has shortcomings, without it youtube would have to face a lawsuit for every infringement. But, Youtube still chose to overturn DMCA, which allows the user to file a counter-claim. And apparently, Youtube made a deal with media companies allowing them to ban any video whatsoever without any repercussions, which is downright evil. http://torrentfreak.com/youtube-deal-with-universal-blocks-dmca-counter-notices-130405/ http://torrentfreak.com/youtube-deal-with-universal-blocks-d...
  - dangrossman 13y ago
    You could argue that this is the only arrangement in which YouTube can exist; is having the site with overzealous copyright enforcement worse than having no site at all? Google may prevail in court if sued for the millions of instances of infringement it hosts, but it'd still have to become the largest US employer of lawyers to handle and fund the dozens of major lawsuits it'd face every year. Is it profitable enough to do that? Does Google want to dedicate so much of its resources to court battles instead of its core competencies? Even with the DMCA, they still get sued.
    - anoncow 13y ago
      Would YT get sued by Universal even with DMCA, if YT did not have a special arrangement with Universal? Without the option of counter-claiming, Youtube is a monarchy. I do expect a public company to have some sort of democracy, especially one who claims to follow "Do not be evil".
      - dangrossman 13y ago
        > Would YT get sued by Universal even with DMCA, if YT did not have a special arrangement with Universal? Why not? Viacom sued despite the DMCA defense.
        anoncow 13y ago
        I concede. You have a point.
digitalsushi 13y ago
Your voice may not be subject to performance copyright violations, but it can assuredly invoke lyrical copyright violations. edit, cached, i lost the race.
tehwebguy 13y ago
Interesting, as C&D letters or as DMCA takedowns sent to YouTube?

dangrossman 13y ago

> The funny part is that my videos only contain my voice, which I'm pretty sure is not copyrighted From the moment you saved your recording of your voice, you were granted copyright protection to that work. The only recordings for which a copyright doesn't exist are those old enough to be in the public domain. Even a recording that infringes someone else's copyright is still protected by its own copyright rights; you can't distribute it without causing damages to the other rights holder, but the author still has exclusive rights to their creation.

cperciva 13y ago

my videos only contain my voice, which I'm pretty sure is not copyrighted Your voice isn't copyrighted, but you might infringe if you were singing a copyrighted song.

thejacenxpress 13y ago
It was a joke but I didn't know that (hence my secret desire to learn more about law). They are simple computer tutorials.
anoncow 13y ago
>you might infringe if you were singing a copyrighted song Or if your video happens to be one of those which youtube partners don't like. Youtube, apparently, has a deal independent of the DMCA, which allows big media compan(ies) to ban any video on youtube. There was a discussion earlier today on HN, in which I said I still trust Google. This is one incidence where Google could have tried to follow its motto of "Do not be evil". Youtube exists because of DMCA safe harbour. Even though DMCA has shortcomings, without it youtube would have to face a lawsuit for every infringement. But, Youtube still chose to overturn DMCA, which allows the user to file a counter-claim. And apparently, Youtube made a deal with media companies allowing them to ban any video whatsoever without any repercussions, which is downright evil. http://torrentfreak.com/youtube-deal-with-universal-blocks-dmca-counter-notices-130405/ http://torrentfreak.com/youtube-deal-with-universal-blocks-d...
- dangrossman 13y ago
  You could argue that this is the only arrangement in which YouTube can exist; is having the site with overzealous copyright enforcement worse than having no site at all? Google may prevail in court if sued for the millions of instances of infringement it hosts, but it'd still have to become the largest US employer of lawyers to handle and fund the dozens of major lawsuits it'd face every year. Is it profitable enough to do that? Does Google want to dedicate so much of its resources to court battles instead of its core competencies? Even with the DMCA, they still get sued.
  - anoncow 13y ago
    Would YT get sued by Universal even with DMCA, if YT did not have a special arrangement with Universal? Without the option of counter-claiming, Youtube is a monarchy. I do expect a public company to have some sort of democracy, especially one who claims to follow "Do not be evil".
    - dangrossman 13y ago
      > Would YT get sued by Universal even with DMCA, if YT did not have a special arrangement with Universal? Why not? Viacom sued despite the DMCA defense.
      - anoncow 13y ago
        I concede. You have a point.

digitalsushi 13y ago

Your voice may not be subject to performance copyright violations, but it can assuredly invoke lyrical copyright violations. edit, cached, i lost the race.

tehwebguy 13y ago

Interesting, as C&D letters or as DMCA takedowns sent to YouTube?