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<b><i>Online Extra</b></i> YouTube to Offer Posters Legal Support to Defend Fair Use of Videos
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By 'Published:'Nov 23, 2015
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In a sign that YouTube may be willing to push back against indiscriminate allegations of copyright infringement, the company announced it will offer legal support, including covering court costs, to protect some videos on its site that it believes meet the standard of 'fair use' under copyright law but have been challenged with takedown notices.
'With approval of the video creators, we'll keep the videos live on YouTube in the U.S., feature them in the'YouTube Copyright Center'as strong examples of fair use, and cover the cost of any copyright lawsuits brought against them,' Google's copyright legal director, Fred von Lohmann,'wrote in a blog post last month. YouTube is owned by Google.
Under U.S. law, copyrighted material may be used under certain circumstances without the copyright holder's permission in what is known as 'fair use.' Copyrighted material can be used, for example, in criticism, news reporting, teaching and research.
But copyright holders often ignore context, choosing to contest the use of their content on YouTube under all circumstances. They send out official takedown notices ' permitted under the'Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), 17 U.S.C. '512 (1998) ' and issue a 'strike' against the user's account. After three strikes, YouTube disables the account. But the company has faced criticism for not doing enough to protect users from wrongful allegations. The announcement indicates the company may now be more willing to stand up to this behavior.
The new policy will start with a focus on four videos'that YouTube believes demonstrate classic cases of fair use. One video, for example, uses game clips for the purpose of review, while another includes a critique of third-party UFO videos.
The company said it was taking this action because it recognizes that creators can be intimidated by the DMCA's counter notification process and the potential for litigation that comes with it.
It also said the newly launched program could eventually be used as a teaching tool, helping YouTube users and copyright owners better understand what fair use looks like online.
YouTube is unlikely to have to pay high court costs under its new policy, as any party that is challenged by YouTube is unlikely to pursue a fight in court ' especially if YouTube chooses videos that clearly qualify as fair use.
Still, the move may also encourage copyright holders to use restraint when alleging infringement. A recent Ninth Circuit ruling held that holders have to make allowances for fair use before filing a DMCA claim. And if YouTube can show that the other party knew the video wasn't infringing but sent a takedown notice anyway, the DMCA makes the person who filed the claim liable for damages, including attorney's fees.
YouTube, which said more than 400 hours of video are uploaded to its video-sharing website every minute, noted that is not able to offer legal protection to every video or video creator that has a strong fair use defense. But it will continue to resist legally unsupported DMCA takedowns as part of its normal processes, the company said.
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By 'Published:'Nov 23, 2015
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