[FC-discuss] Mirror your videos; protect your rights

[FreeCulture.org - Students for Free Culture]

Writes Kevin Driscoll on our blog:

As YouTube's instability continues to frustrate community members, video
makers are forced to adapt. [Fanvidders][1] have been highly proactive
in both anticipating and managing the constraints presented by YouTube's
copyright policy.

Initially, vidders developed codes for discussing their videos.
[panswendyy][2] recounts one such strategy,

> [My friend] uses the first letter of the character's names, like B for
Buffy, so if it were a Fuffy, she'd just put B/F.

Unfortunately, such codes are ineffective responses to the automated
[Video Identification system][3] deployed by Google in 2007. With [no
voice][4] with which to argue fair use, many users sacrifice the
incomparably large community on YouTube for friendlier service
elsewhere.

Before setting sail for imeem (or Vimeo, blip, dailymotion, etc),
prolific YouTube users like [cmspillane][5] post [videos explaining the
reasons for their departure][6]. (Ironically, because of its background
music, we should expect the signoff itself to disappear.)

In response to [an earlier blog post about preserving comments on
disabled videos][7], Dean writes that YouTube might prefer that users
are "unable to de-facto redirect to other versions of infringing
material." This should come as no surprise.

Mirroring videos is the most powerful immediate action that video makers
can take to protect their rights as authors.

The gradual disappearance of videos from YouTube over the last 18 months
progressed largely undetected because of an emergent practice
distributed among thousands of community members. A few common searches
reveals that the most popular videos are frequently ripped and re-upped
under a variety of accounts. Like bees unwittingly pollinating a field
of wild flowers, these re-ups are often executed by spammers looking for
more hits on their other videos. The preservation of threatened videos
is merely a by-product of their unscrupulous pursuit of views!

Moving to another service allows creators to continue practicing their
craft but does little to challenge the irresponsible, wasteful industry
practice of issuing copyright claims willy-nilly.

Can proactive re-upping and mirroring be an effective response to the
accelerating disappearance of fanvids, remixes, home videos, and rare
finds from the YouTube collection?

What would an automated mirroring / re-upping tool look like? Could
[YouTomb][8] data be mobilized toward such an effort?

Remember, a DMCA takedown is not a judgement. YouTube disables access to
videos based on mere _claims_ of infringement. If you have had a video
identified, [the EFF wants to hear from you][9]. Please do not let the
short-sighted actions of a frightened industry intimidate you from
participating in the creation of _your_ culture!

(Cross-posted to the [YouTomb blog][10].)

   [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Songvid

   [2]: http://www.youtube.com/user/panswendyy

   [3]:
http://www.google.com/support/youtube/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=83766

   [4]: http://www.kevindriscoll.info/todomundo/2009/01/16/youtube-
unable-to-accept-my-counter-notification/

   [5]: http://www.youtube.com/user/cmspillane

   [6]: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WClH5_ugCk

   [7]: http://youtomb.mit.edu/blog/?p=20

   [8]: http://youtomb.mit.edu/

   [9]: http://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2009/01/youtubes-january-fair-use-
massacre

   [10]: http://youtomb.mit.edu/blog/?p=21

URL: http://freeculture.org/blog/2009/02/05/mirror-your-videos-protect-your-rights/