Thursday, April 1, 2010

How legal is YouTube?

The idea of copyright has become a very relevant issue with the rise of the Internet today. Many different sites are used for the distribution of many of artist’s works. Whether it is that of filmmakers or musicians, there is somehow a way that their artwork is distributed without their consent. YouTube is an Internet site that allows for the streaming of almost any video. Through this site you can find many uses of songs and videos posted on this site without the consent of the people who made it, but is this a violation of copyright laws.

The article "The Copyright Balance" puts forth the idea that the goods that such artists produced are both nonrivalrous and nonexcludable. This entails that once a certain party buys these “works of art”. There is no way of watching how that person shares it. For example if I buy a CD, I can lend it to my friend for him to listen to it, without thinking that it was illegal to so. Therefore under this way of thinking, I believe that YouTube does not violate copyright laws, it is just a tool for sharing the information with others. It allows for the free sharing of ideas and culture, and could even be beneficial for the artists even if they do not gain financial reward.

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2 comments:

  1. Sheila WaslawskiApril 4, 2010 at 3:16 PM

    Nice work Sharif!
    I liked how you included your opinion on whether or not YouTube violates copyright laws. I agree with you that it is merely "a tool for sharing information with others" and for the most part does not violate copyright laws. I liked how you included the note that although artists may not receive financial compensation from YouTube, they receive publicity. Good job!

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  2. Brian FreebornApril 5, 2010 at 10:42 AM

    I too like your point that YouTube is a means of sharing information with others just like any of us would lend a CD to a friend. This stresses that YouTube isn’t breaking anymore laws than any of us are, and I never really considered this before. After reading your final point, I thought of artists first posting videos on YouTube as an internship because they don’t make any money, yet it is where new artists can start making themselves known.

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