Streaming Media and Copyright
It's easy to do streaming video! Anyone with a web cam can put their creations on the Internet to be viewed by millions of people. Be careful though! Unless you are the creator, star, and sole actor you could run into streaming media copyright problems.
Streaming media of any kind is subject to copyright. It may be tempting to think of YouTube or Google Video as a source of free content, but copyright protection still applies. The creator of any kind of material - including streaming video - has specific rights which must be respected. In addition, video streaming creators must be careful of their source material.
Most of the videos seen on Google Video or YouTube fall under the category of user-created content (UCC). Most of the time, UCC can be used in any way the creator desires.
However, when UCC contains footage of recognizable people, a written release is required before distributing the streaming video on the Internet. Otherwise you may be charged with libel, invasion of privacy, or even copyright infringement if the person in your video claims his or her words are under copyright.
Even if the streaming media does not contain an audio track, there are restrictions about using video footage of people. It is always a good idea to obtain a written release to protect yourself from lawsuits.
Crowd scenes are usually exempt from this requirement, because it is usually hard to identify individuals in the crowd. However, if you zoom in on one particular person you should try to get a written release before distributing the video on the Internet (or anywhere else).
Other Streaming Media
You may try to enhance your video with a music track or still images. These can certainly add professional quality to your video, but you must be careful that the streaming media you use is not under copyright. If it is, you must obtain written permission to use that material.
Written permission can be obtained from the copyright holder, who may be different from the creator. One of the rights of a creator is to transfer copyright to another person for any reason.
If you have used copyrighted material in your streaming video, you could be charged with copyright violation, so always make sure of the sources of your material and take the necessary steps to obtain releases.
Protecting Your Own Streaming Media
Copyright protects the creator of any kind of media, so you have copyright protection for the streaming media you created - even if you post it on YouTube. So what you do if you find someone using your video without your permission?
The first thing to do is to contact the offending party and let them know that you are the copyright holder. Ask them to remove your material or otherwise compensate you in an acceptable way. Perhaps you simply want credit for the material you have created.
If your initial inquiry is ignored, you can try to enforce your rights as copyright holder of the streaming media. This involves hiring a lawyer and suing the other party. This can be expensive and even if you win it can be hard to collect damages.
Before going the legal route, another option is to contact the copyright offender's Internet Service Provider (ISP) and registering a complaint.
Copyright infringement is a serious matter that has reached epidemic proportions in our digital age. If you do not want your streaming media to be copied, the only sure way of protecting it is to keep it to yourself. The sad reality is that in our current Internet environment, anything posted on the web is likely to be appropriated in ways we don't approve of.
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