Our friends over at Public Knowledge are holding a remix video contest in response to last week’s, YouTube “Copyright School”. Meant to reform violators of uploaded infringements by educating and then testing them on YouTube’s copyright policy, the school also does a pretty good job of pushing fair use out of the picture. Literally. As a result, PK is offering $1,000 for the best remix or web video that more accurately explains both what you can and can’t do with copyrighted content.
After mounting pressures from Congress and media conglomerates, Google’s YouTube Copyright School is the company’s attempt at illustrating how they plan to discourage piracy and the illegal uploading and streaming of copyrighted content on their sites. As a result, Copyright School has simultaneously become a way for YouTube to standardize its copyright policies to promote video content with the lowest threat to corporate infringement while also instilling the fear of God in those who choose to rely on their legal rights under fair use.
It’s ultimately your responsibility to know whether you possess the rights for a particular piece of content before uploading it to YouTube. If you’re at all uncertain of your rights or whether a particular use of content is legal under your local laws, you should contact a qualified copyright attorney. Of course, the easiest way to avoid any potential issues is to create totally original content — perhaps by making the most of the creative tools available on the site.
Check out the original YouTube video the company made last week.
Now it’s your turn to remix, mash up or identity-correct YouTube’s Copyright School and illustrate what you can do with copyrighted content: remix, reuse and repurpose it without permission from the rights holder as allowed under the doctrine of fair use.