[jambutty]

Originally Posted by Loz

Does anybody know about uploading videos?
Does it come under breach of copyright if you share them with other people?
Very confused!!

The copyright laws are basically quite clear.

If you produce some written text, take a photograph, produce a sound or video recording of something or paint a picture, you hold the copyright to it. You cannot claim copyright to the title of a book, song etc. You do not have to include the copyright sign or the date but it is useful to do so if it ever comes to a claim of breach of copyright. It is not unknown for two composers to compose the same tune so a date becomes crucial in establishing who holds the copyright to it.

Just as a small aside – the photographer who took your wedding photos etc. holds the copyright to them not you - even if he hands over the negatives. However by the act of handing over the negatives it could be argued that he was also handing over his claim of copyright of the pictures. Strictly speaking he should also hand over a document relinquishing his copyright in your favour.

If someone copies your work, whether it is for their own personal use or not, it is a breach of copyright. By posting a film on YouTube that someone else made, it breaches the filmmakers copyright on that film. By allowing the film to be published on their web site, YouTube are aiding and abetting the breach of copyright.

What isn’t clear is if anyone viewing such a film is also in breach of copyright. No doubt that will be argued out in a court of law but I cannot see how they can be. But then I’m not a copyright lawyer.

So to answer your question Loz – if you download a video, make a copy of it and share it with someone else without the copyright holder’s permission you are in breach of copyright as is the person receiving your copy, whether they view it or not. However by supplying a link to where that video can be viewed is not breaching the copyright laws.

Just to throw everything into confusion, because of the nature of the Internet and the ease that digital information can be copied, some people claim that if the material is posted on a web site it, in effect, becomes “open source”. Meaning that people who post material on the Internet know that it can be copied easily so by posting the material on the Internet they are to all intents and purposes relinquishing their copyright to that material. That should keep the lawyers busy for years to come.

Now my brain hurts and I’m going back to bed.