Copyright Tips
Posting copyright-infringing content can lead to the termination of your account, and possibly fines if a copyright owner takes you to court. Here are some guidelines to help you determine whether your video is eligible or whether it infringes someone else's copyright.
As a general matter, we at MEINL percussion respect the rights of artists and creators, and hope you will work with us to keep our community a creative, legal and positive experience for everyone.
How to Make Sure Your Video Does Not Infringe Someone Else's Copyrights
Make sure your idea is original. Make sure the music is yours’. If it's all yours, you never have to worry about the copyright—you own it! Make sure to follow the other guidelines in the terms of use, too.
For example, if you use an audio track of a sound recording owned by a record label without that record label's permission, your video is infringing the copyrights of others, and we will take it down as soon as we become aware of it.
Commercial Content Is Copyrighted
The most common reason we take down videos for copyright infringement. Once we become aware of an unauthorized use, we will remove the video promptly. That is the law.
Some examples of copyrighted content are:
- TV shows
- Including sitcoms, sports broadcasts, news broadcasts, comedy shows, cartoons, dramas, etc.
- Includes network and cable TV, pay-per-view and on-demand TV
- Music videos, such as the ones you might find on music video channels
- Videos of live concerts, even if you captured the video yourself
- Even if you took the video yourself, the performer controls the right to use his/her image in a video, the songwriter owns the rights to the song being performed, and sometimes the venue prohibits filming without permission, so this video is likely to infringe somebody else's rights.
- Movies and movie trailers
- Commercials
- Slide shows that include photos or images owned by somebody else
A Few Guiding Principles
- It doesn't matter how long or short the clip is, or exactly how it got to MEINL percussion. If you taped it off of a television show, a videotape or downloaded it from some other website, it is still copyrighted and requires the copyright owner's permission to share.
- You don’t want to have legal problems over this.
What Will Happen If You Upload Copyrighted Clips?
Anytime we become aware that a video or any part of a video on our site infringes the copyrights of a third party, we will take it down from the site. We are required to do so by law. If you believe that a video on the site infringes your copyright, send us a copyright notice and we will take it down. If you believe that we have removed a video that you uploaded and that you are the copyright owner or have permission, you can file a counter notice and let us know. If you repeatedly post infringing content, your account will be terminated. This is also a requirement of the law.
Using Copyrighted Content in Your Videos
While videos that are direct copies of someone else's content are clear copyright violations, there are certain circumstances in which the use of the clips of a copyrighted video or song may be legal even without permission. This is known as the "fair use" principle of copyright law.
To determine whether a particular use of a short clip of a copyrighted video or song qualifies as a "fair use," you need to analyze and weigh four factors that are outlined in the U.S. copyright statute. Unfortunately, the weighing of these four factors is often quite subjective and complex, and for this reason, it's often difficult to determine whether a particular use is a "fair use." If the copyright owner disagrees with your interpretation, the copyright owner may chose to resolve the matter in court.
If you would like to learn more about the principles of fair use, below are a few links to websites that discuss it. Please remember, however, that your decision on how to exercise your fair use rights is solely yours, and we at MEINL percussion bear no responsibility for your decision.
DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT YOUR ATTORNEYS, AND THE INFORMATION WE PRESENT HERE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. WE PRESENT THIS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.
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