While it goes without saying YouTube is the big boy in the online video world, it is also true more and more niche specific video websites are being created by the week. If you are considering starting such a site, let?s take a look at the legal issues associated with starting a video sharing website.
DMCA
Perhaps the biggest issue a video sharing website owner is going to deal with repeatedly is the DMCA. DMCA stands for Digital Millennium Copyright Act. As the name suggests, this is a law passed by the federal government of the United States to address copyright issues in an online world.
A ?copyright? is the right of the owner of a work to copy and distribute the work. For example, J.K. Rowling wrote the Harry Potter books. She automatically was given the copyright to those books. If somebody wanted to copy and distribute the books or to write a film based on those books, they had to negotiate a license with Rowling.
The DMCA involves three parties online. The first party is the copyright owner. The second party is the person who posts a copyrighted work on the site without permission from the copyright owner. The third party is the site on which the post is made. There is a good deal of controversy regarding how the DMCA applies to the first two parties. As a site owner, however, you should thank the heavens for this law.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a boon to the owners of video sharing websites. Why? The law provides site owners with a ?safe harbor? from prosecution for copyright infringement so long as the site adheres to certain procedures. These procedures include designating an agent to receive complaints from copyright holders; steps to take when complaints come in; what must be communicated to the parties and other incidentals beyond the scope of this article. The key thing to understand, however, is so long as these procedures are followed, the website cannot be sued for monetary damages.
This concept is very important because video sharing websites run into copyright claims constantly. People upload videos containing material infringing on the copyright of others constantly. For example, a person might upload a video and include a song they like as the soundtrack for it. If they do not obtain consent to use the music, they are infringing on the copyright.
I cannot emphasize enough how important it is to comply with the DMCA. This is your get out of jail card as a video sharing website owner. Comply with the Act and you will not get sued. Fail to comply and you will be buried under an avalanche of websites.
Terms of Use
You also need Terms of Use for a video sharing website. Most website owners don?t really understand the purpose of the Terms of Use. Also called terms and conditions, this document acts as a legal contract between you and visitors who use your site. The beauty of this contract is you get to set all the terms.
The truth is when most webmasters or site owners look at Terms of Use; they simply see a bunch of boilerplate language they don?t really understand. This is unfortunate because each of the clauses serves a very important purpose. Let?s look at a few to give you a feel for the value of a properly constructed Terms of Use for a site.
If you require visitors to sign up to view or post videos, you must include a COPPA statement in the terms. COPPA stands for the Child Online Privacy Protection Act. This law requires a host of measures be taken if children under the age of 13 are allowed onto the site. One generally wants to avoid catering to kids under the age of 13. The COPPA rules are very burdensome and kids under 13 do not have money to spend. Regardless, a video sharing site usually needs to include a statement in the Terms making it clear the site is not intended for kids under 13.
A ?jurisdiction clause? is also critical. What is a jurisdiction clause? States and countries have their own set of laws. A jurisdiction clause details what laws will be used in a dispute and where the dispute must be heard geographically. Let?s look at an example.
Assume I start my video sharing website in San Diego, California. A person in Pennsylvania sees their name mentioned in the video and threatens to sue me for slander. If I include a jurisdiction clause in my Terms of Use containing language requiring all disputes to use California law and be heard in San Diego, it is likely the person in Pennsylvania will be required to sue me in San Diego. Give the cost and inconvenience involved in traveling and staying in San Diego, the person may just abandon the complaint.
The Terms of Use for video sharing website typically have 15 to 20 clauses designed to limit the potential liability of the site owner. Video sites are ripe for legal action, so make sure your terms are customized to your site and up to date with recent legal rulings.
Privacy Policy
As with most websites these days, a video website must contain a detailed privacy policy. The privacy policies set out essentially what data is captured from visitors, how it is used, and how visitors can opt out of having it used in the particular manner indicated in the policy. This is a gross oversimplification of how a privacy policy works. The larger point to take away from this is you need one for your site under the law these days.
In Closing
If you are considering starting a video sharing website, please keep in mind the above discussion covers only a select number of legal topics related to the site. Video sites tend to be a target for lawyers, so make sure you retain counsel and have all your ducks in order when the site goes live.
While nobody can guarantee you won?t run into legal issues, your goal should be to minimize the risk as much as possible at the outset. Feel free to contact me today for free consultation.
Richard A. Chapo, Esq.
Related posts:
- Legal Issues When Starting A Forum
- User Generated Content Legal Issues
- Can I Embed YouTube Videos On My Website?
- Website Terms of Use For Your Site
- Starting An Online Business ? From The Perspective of An Internet Lawyer
Source: http://www.socalinternetlawyer.com/legal-issues-starting-video-sharing-website/
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