Copyrighted material belongs to someone

By GEORGIA GEMPLER
UNLEASHED STAFF
Have you ever watched a movie on YouTube?
Recently, I learned it’s possible to watch entire movies on YouTube. Then, I began wondering if putting entire movies on YouTube is legal.
I know there are a lot of media piraters out there, and every once in a while I hear about a new site with free videos. But there always seems to be that underlying question of legality.
On YouTube’s Frequently Asked Questions page, it states: “We prohibit users from uploading infringing material and we cooperate with copyright holders to identify and promptly remove infringing content.”
So what is infringing content?
In relation to movies and videos, the copyright entry in the community guidelines on YouTube states: “If you’ve recorded something from a DVD, videotaped your TV screen, or downloaded a video online, don’t post it unless you have permission.”
This, from my own interpretation, means if you record a movie from a TV program, you cannot post it on YouTube without the copyright owner’s permission.
But how do you — and YouTube for that matter — know if a video has been posted legally with permission from the copyright owner?
YouTube says on its FAQ page: “We don’t control the content on our site. Our users post the content on YouTube — including videos, comments, and ratings. Our community guidelines and clear messaging on the site make it clear that users must own or have permission from copyright holders to post any videos.”
To me, this means that we, as the YouTube users, can’t be positively sure that all the postings on the Web site are legal.
This brings us to the real dilemma of watching movies on YouTube.
On one hand, watching movies online can be a great way to access movies you aren’t able to find where you live. It also saves you the trouble of having to buy or rent a movie, or pay to see it in theaters. It’s convenient.
But, if you were not completely sure if a movie was used with permission, would you watch it anyway? And does it really matter if all you do is watch it?
According to section 107 of chapter 1 of the Copyright Law of the United States of America — which can be found at www.copyright.gov — fair use is determined by the:
• “purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes.”
• “nature of the copyrighted work.”
• “amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole.”
• “effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.”
In relation to films online, the last item seems most relevant. Putting a movie online enables countless people to view it without having to pay for the privilege to do so. A film would lose enormous amounts of its profit if eager viewers found ways around paying to see it.
But on another point, section 107 also states “ … the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright.”
Does this mean that viewing a video for teaching purposes — even if it was illegally downloaded and protected by a copyright — wouldn’t be against the law?
Even with the excuse of educational purposes or any other mentioned in section 107, a viewer could still be costing the film creator well deserved profit.
You, as the YouTube user, must decide what you think is right. The bottom line either way is: copyrighted material belongs to someone.

• Georgia Gempler is a member of the Yakima Herald-Republic’s Unleashed team. She attends Davis High School.