In November I uploaded a video to YouTube and I decided to re-post the link here because I want to make a point. What point you ask? To highlight the fact that I need to work on my video skills? No, the point is, I could possibly fall victim of the SOPA/PIPA legislation being considered by Congress, if it passes.
In September, I was hired to video the PASS HAS TALENT finals and in this video you can hear music in the background that is copyrighted. Am I profiting from the music? NO! But that didn’t stop YouTube from letting my know that one of the songs was owned by BMG Music, and that by including the song in the video, I may be infringing on the owners copyright. Silly right?
Not really. I know a videographer that told me that an associate of his was fined $10,000 for using a single song in one of his videos. $10,000 dollars!!!
What would happen if someone speaking at an event I was videoing says, “Is everybody going to watch the Superbowl?” Would I owe the NFL a royalty fee for using their trademarked term? Heck, do I owe them a fee for using it in this blog post? Crazy isn’t it?
FYI, in every video I have been asked to create; when I control the content, I license royalty free music to make sure I don’t violate the owners intellectual property. IMO, not enough is being done to ensure the little guy or girl is protected by fair use and a lot more discussion needs to occur before we enact sweeping legislation such as SOPA and PIPA.
What is SOPA/PIPA you ask? Do a Wikipedia search or Google search for more information.
Anyway, enough of my rant. enjoy the video and again, congratulations to the winner, musician Ryan Lu.