Chapter 6. Rebroadcasting: Commercial Content

Michael W. Dean

Ahhh…the joys of copyright…especially other people's copyrights. We're not lawyers, but my years of working as a semiprofessional musician and a professional filmmaker have made me a damn good "jailhouse lawyer" when it comes to intellectual property law. Here we'll talk about what you can't upload, copyright infringement, what you can upload, fair use, and parody (and dangerous common misnomers about the same). We'll explain how the rules are different for YouTube partners than for users in general, and we'll tell you where to find royalty-free music and video clips. We'll also show you how to protect your own work, with both traditional copyright and with Creative Commons.

Note

I'm not an attorney. Nothing in this chapter (or in this book) constitutes legal advice. If in doubt, consult an attorney. Copyright regulations vary from country to country. I can only tell you what I know about copyright regulations in the United States. Please don't email me with questions about copyright. I can't give you legal advice.

Copyright

Copyright is a right assigned to intellectual property and is indicated by the symbol shown in Figure 6-1. Music, movies, books, software, and other content are protected for a period of time from being copied and sold by people other than the creator of the content.

The copyright symbol.

Figure 6-1. The copyright symbol. ...

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