Posting content that infringes copyright you risk your account being deleted, and possibly monetary penalties if a copyright owner takes
you to court. If you are not sure whether your video infringes copyrights or is ineligible, have a look at some tips posted below.

What Makes A Video Infringe Someone Else's Copyrights

The way to ensure that your video doesn't infringe someone else's copyright is to use your skills and imagination to create something completely original. It could be as simple as taping some of your friends goofing around, and as complicated as filming your own short movie with a script, actors, and the whole works. If it's all yours, you never have to worry about the copyright—you own it!

Be sure that all components of your video are your own creation—even the music. For instance, if you use an audio track of a sound recording owned by a record label without that record label's permission, your video is infringing the copyrights of others, and we will take it down as soon as we become aware of it.

Commercial Content Is Copyrighted

The most common reason we take down videos for copyright infringement is that they are direct copies of copyrighted content and the owners of the copyrighted content have warned us that their content is being used without their permission. Once we become aware of an
unauthorized use, we will remove the video promptly. Such is the law.

Some examples of copyrighted content (although not all) are:

• TV shows
  Including sitcoms, sports broadcasts, news broadcasts, comedy shows, cartoons, dramas, etc.
  Includes network and cable TV, pay-per-view and on-demand TV
• Music videos, such as the ones you might find on music video channels
• Videos of live concerts, even if you captured the video yourself
  Even if you took the video yourself, the performer controls the right to use his/her image in a video, the songwriter owns the rights to the song being performed, and sometimes the venue prohibits filming without permission, so this video is likely to infringe somebody else's rights.
• Movies and movie trailers
• Commercials
• Slide shows that include photos or images owned by somebody else
  

A Guideline

• It doesn't matter how long or short the clip is, or exactly how it got to Nihilum. If you taped it off cable, videotaped your TV screen, or downloaded it from some other website, it is still copyrighted, and requires the copyright owner's permission to distribute.
• It doesn't matter whether or not you give credit to the owner/author/songwriter—it is still copyrighted.
• It doesn't matter that you are not selling the video for money—it is still copyrighted.
• It doesn't matter whether or not the video contains a copyright notice—it is still copyrighted.
• It doesn't matter whether other similar videos appear on our site—it is still copyrighted.
• It doesn't matter if you created a video made of short clips of copyrighted content—even though you edited it together, the content is still copyrighted.
  

What Happens If You Upload Infringing Content

Anytime we become aware that a video or any part of a video on our site infringes the copyrights of a third party, we will take it down from the site. The law requires us to do that. If you believe that a video on the site infringes your copyright, send us a copyright notice and we will take it down. If you believe that we have removed a video that you uploaded in error and that you are the copyright owner or have permission, you can contact us, too. If you repeatedly post infringing content, your account will be deleted. This is also a requirement of
the law.

Using Some Copyrighted Content in Your Videos

While videos that are direct copies of someone else's content are clear copyright violations, there are certain very limited circumstances in which the use of very short clips of a copyrighted video or song may be legal even without permission. This is known as the "fair use" principle of copyright law. To determine whether a particular use of a short clip of a copyrighted video or song qualifies as a "fair use," you need to analyze the video, the links below may help you with your decision.

Fair Use Links

• http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html
• http://fairuse.stanford.edu/Copyright_and_Fair_Use_Overview/chapter9/
• http://www.copyrightwebsite.com/Info/Law/FairUse.aspx
• http://chillingeffects.org/fairuse/

DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT YOUR ATTORNEYS, AND THE INFORMATION WE PRESENT HERE IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE. WE PRESENT THIS INFORMATION FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY.