Sharing videos from You Tube

[Scottish Business Owner]

I watch a lot of business type video's on You Tube and this got me thinking about having a video section on the blog. This would basically involve me linking to a video from You Tube and then maybe adding my own comments in a post relating to the video.

Now the question I wondering is is this actually legal. Dont get me wrong I see it all over the place but is there anything I need to be aware of or consider before going ahead and doing this?

 

[Former Member 1]

There are a couple of possible 'outs' for doing this provided you are just linking to what's up there already and not attempting to rip it and host it yourself...

My first concern would be that what you're linking to is on Youtube legitimately... A lot of stuff isn't and you'd need to consider each case individually. Though you'd probably have an 'out' ultimately you just don't want to get into a copyright dispute; it's easy to get into the situation where you're fending off some muppet with lawyers letter at a ton a time!

Aside from that the Copyrights Designs and Patents Act allows material to be extracted for the purposes of criticism or review... So simply linking to something and offering a critique should probably be ok...

 

[Scottish Business Owner]

Thanks Matt!

I've uploaded an example onto the blog (link below). I'm pretty sure I should be OK but you can never be too careful these days.

Business Advice from Michelle Mone | Scottish Business Blog

 

[Former Member 1]

You're very welcome ...

That's a good example you've posted actually.

Video needs to be done well or else it's better not used at all and there are some AWFUL videos out there on YouTube... The strongest business advice in the world will be lost to the majority unless it's presented properly. And moving pictures add nothing to the message if they're badly shot, badly lit, fuzzy, out of focus or you have to strain to decipher the sound..

The Manchester Evening News are making quite innovative use of YouTube to engage with thieir audience. Not done on a huge budget by broadcast standards; but they do make a point of hiring decent technicians... Even on simple pieces such as the example shown that pays dividends.

 

[Former Member 1]

One other point ... It's a good idea (from several perspectives) to attribute the source of videos such as the one you've posted and maybe provide a link to their main page.

 

[Canary Dwarf]

When you publish a YouTube video, you choose whether you give the rights to embed it, so that's contractual permission to host it on your site. Not all video sharing sites do this (eg, Vimeo),even though they provide embed code

The difficulty arises when the account holder uploads something they don't have permission to, such as a band performance or music video. The Manchester Evening News (as in your video) is unlikely to do that as it is a bona fide news organisation using it as a tool for distribution. Although YouTube does have some copyright infringement detection algorithm, it's not entirely foolproof (it only works for music),and can in fact be overruled.

YouTube is one of the best social media tools out there. You're using it absolutely correctly . It benefits MEN by boosting view, it keeps rreaders on your site longer, provides a facility for feedback, and its education. I look forward to more videos on your blog .