Okay, so I’ve been seeing a quite a few youtubers posting about fair use and issues
with Youtube lately and I feel like I have a few points to add to this dialogue.
So I first came across this wtfu hashtag from a video posted by Doug Walker on channel awesome.
He spoke about how fair use applies to Youtube and does a decent job at explaining it in
a nutshell and Boogie2988 expands upon it well.
However;
To my understanding, fair use or fair dealing as it’s known here in Canada isn’t actually
applied until there is a legal case.
I’m under the impression that YouTube’s Copyright system is in place to protect us
from potential lawsuits which is why it does so heavily favor the copyright holders.
The fact that it considers fair use or allows claims instead of strikes is actually extremely
generous.
Think about how much work, time and budget goes into a major Hollywood film compared
to a small personal YouTube production.
There is a pretty big difference.
Essentially the creators of these large scale productions want their work to be perceived
in a certain way and fair use supports them in this based on the effect in the potential
market.
Now don’t get me wrong here, I love Doug’s content, The Nostalgia Critic is a brilliantly
written character and is one of bigger examples of an internet reviewer who has greatly increased
his production values over time but he is known for being cynical about films.
So even when he is being fair and sharing something he enjoys he’s are sort of pigeonholed
as an entity that harms brands.
This basically sum’s up this entire movement, Ihateeverything, yourmoviesucks, AlphaOmegaSin,
no offence guys you’re all super entertaining but you’re just not brand-friendly and that
is a big part of your appeal.
Even boogie, one of the coolest most level headed guys in the world, but I can only assume
the mere thought of Francis makes big brands crap their pants.
I’m just speculating but odds are these guys are just seen as un-beneficial to the
creators of the content they are borrowing, by using someone’s content you are essentially
playing in their backyard, if you act up you’ll be asked to leave, or in the worst case you’ll
be seen as a trespasser.
If you have a reputation of ripping films apart you will likely have some issues as
it may be perceived as harming the films market.
Most people familiar with these YouTubers know they likely affect a film or piece of
media’s market positively if anything, but I could see how coverage on one of these channels
might be seen as harmful to certain types of brands.
Also Some people just don't like to be smack talked which makes the parody and critique
portion of fair use a fine line to walk.
TeamFourStar is an example of a parody experiencing issues, they recently had their whole channel
taken down, this was rectified quickly by YouTube jumping in immediately but it is a
very scary example of what can happen under the current system.
TFS know the risks just like the rest of us, they love their work, but this is just the
dangerous lifestyle we YouTube content creators lead if we choose to borrow content.
We also have to keep in mind that Japan doesn’t have anything resembling fair use or fair
dealing so anime is always at risk of confusion and often causes issues; Which makes Team
Four Star even more badass when you think about it.
In Doug’s example of My neighbor Totoro there is the added consideration that Disney
is a copyright colossus here in north america.
So while Studio Ghibli is magical and seems like a welcoming property to share within
our culture, using it in YouTube videos comes at a massive risk as far as copyright is concerned
and it should be approached with a considerable amount of care and understanding of that risk.
I managed to get a top 10 Miyazaki films video released last year out without issue, but
it was a tense few days after uploading, I was indeed prepared for a strike, or several
at once but also had a lot of pride in the work I created and was prepared to fight for
it to the bitter end.
I feel because I used a variety of source films and treated the source material with
the utmost respect and generally have done so with other films previously I was given
a pass.
Fingers crossed that luck holds out for the Top 10 other Studio Ghibli Films I hope to
release later this year.
I just wanted to clarify why I think some channels are targeted more aggressively than
others when it comes to these kind of copyright claims and strikes.
We all have to deal with these issues as YouTubers who borrow content, but it’s generally more
severe if we are overly or harshly critical because our work is seen as less “fair”
with our use or dealing of the material.
As far as the false claims against Brad and more recently I hate everything, this is a
separate issue which definitely needs to be addressed on YouTube’s end as it shows clear
abuse of the system and I can confirm these kind of shenanigans go on at all levels of
YouTube from the smallest channel to the biggest.
Some kind of penalty against the false claimant should be in order as well as compensation
for the Youtube Creator affected.
I feel like YouTube has been a great advocate of all of our creative freedoms, and does
a good job of listening and addressing our concerns when possible.
I personally feel the real fight is a legal one and we should be offering support to YouTube
in fighting for freedom among it’s creators, instead of blaming them for doing the best
they can with an archaic system and an immense amount of outside pressure.
I can however totally get behind fighting against false or fraudulent claims, or even
fighting for more freedom on our end as creators.
I’ve struggled with many copyright claims and strikes with a lot of my content so I
can totally sympathize.
and I agree that more freedom is always beneficial for growth.
So while YouTubes copyright system could be worse, it could also be a lot better, and
I support the idea of improving it both for the cynical and non-cynical among us for better
or worse.
So where’s the fair use?
Well, it’s here, it’s how most of the people involved survive on youtube in the
first place, but it can be worked on and improved for the benefit of everyone involved, working
out the kinks and perhaps giving us creators a little more leeway with fair-use and dealing.
My name is Fade Dragontear, and those are my thoughts, what are yours?
leave a comment below, thanks for watching.
Peace out.