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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

I'd think thrice before Posting on Vimeo

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I remember Triggerstreet had a similar policy claiming ownership of people's SCREENPLAYS as well as short films uploaded there. I got the hell out of there post haste.

"In other words, it was never mine to give...so copyright holder would win in any dispute."

And might expose YOU to damages for illegally uploading it!
 
I'm sure there is some language in there that says not to post anything unless you own the copyright for it. YouTube always has a reminder not to post copyrighted material...

If you have a demo reel made of material other people own the copyright to, according to their language, you shouldn't be posting it.

I wonder what the agreement is on those site specifically designed for demo reels...?

PS: i once read something that said YouTube had the right to take your video (or any footage from within your project), make a DVD out of it, sell it, and never pay you anything. So if they want to group 40 clips and do a 'Best of Viral Video' DVD, they can.
 
AngusChandler said:
clause in your contract stating that you may use the works you are producing for your own promotional purposes?
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And that exactly seems the problem with Vimeo et al. - It is no longer just for your personal promotional purpose.

Yet another reason for keeping everything on a server you control.

(I wrote a bit more about this on my blog, says the shameless self-plugging Martin.)
 
Wait a minute..

They shouldn't be able to do anything unless they have:

- contract, which is physically signed by you.
- electronic version of a contract with a certified electronic signature.

... I think?

All else should be nonsense legally, or at least, nothing more than "We can delete your clip from the site if it doesn't meet our regulations [no porn, copyrighted material, etc.].

Unless they got a certified e-signature from you, they can do nothing?

Or I'm confused?
 
Another thing is I've seen some spec commercials with Nike or Apple logos. This could have a bad ending for the creators even if there is no profit involved. You are not allowed to use these registered brands. I already have heard of Coca Cola sue a director who put a spec up on youtube.
 
Cinewalt said:
I don't think they would attempt to brazenly exercise the rights stipulated there.
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Even if they might be part of the "do no evil" thing, a future buyer of Vimeo might have different interests.

Jason Ramsey said:
it is [...] "non-exclusive", so you aren't giving it over to them and giving up your rights
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It is not so much about giving up your rights, as to losing control over who can use your footage.



NateWeaver said:
Right. Most of my work technically is owned by somebody else, unfortunately.

So if I post it on Vimeo (and I have), and it gets used somewhere else, it would be up to the copyright holder to exercise their rights.
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Thing is, the person who uses it somewhere else can claim to have done so in good faith - because you did upload the content and thereby granted them a right that was not your to give.

Meaning: the copyright holder would be entitled to sue you.

----

But really the bigger picture is: Anyone who offers the service of hosting your footage for free, will have to have a commercial interest. They need to make money, otherwise the site would go down. Youtube has started inserting banners into videos - something I find distracting in daily useage. And it might be a killer if this would happen in your showreel.

As said by someone else, there is no free lunch.

Convenience or control. Pick one.
 
But do you also have a clause in your contract that allows you to give third parties unlimited use of the footage?

This is where I see the problems start.

As a producer I would obviously happily grant a DP to use some shots on a demo reel.

I would not be happy to find out that this DP had given this footage for others to use at their will. And this is exactly what happens when you upload your footage to Vimeo et. al.
 
Has anyone heard of Vimeo or Youtube taking someone else's work and trying to make money with it. I keep finding douchebags(not Vimeo or Youtube) taking my footage and editing it together with some really gay music. But to my knowledge that's the extent of people ripping off my stock footage that I know about.
 
Andrew Walker said:
Has anyone heard of Vimeo or Youtube taking someone else's work and trying to make money with it. I keep finding douchebags(not Vimeo or Youtube) taking my footage and editing it together with some really gay music. But to my knowledge that's the extent of people ripping off my stock footage that I know about.
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Happens all the time. A director friend of mine saw some youtube videos of his movie recut to music tracks like metallica and other famous bands/songs. it's a fan thing, i guess
 
Jason Ing said:
Happens all the time. A director friend of mine saw some youtube videos of his movie recut to music tracks like metallica and other famous bands/songs. it's a fan thing, i guess
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Well at least its just fans stealing it. But still I know its incredibly annoying to see your work modified from the way you posted it.
 
YouTube's policy is even worse. Definitely be careful about what you upload on either site. If you become famous (or already are), they'll have the rights to sell or distibute your uploaded content. And you probably don't have those rights to give.

-shooter
 
If you need a place for self promotion, or for client review, we have been using wiredrive.com. It costs 2500 to set up and 250 a month. Yes it's not cheap, but the feature set is super deep and everything is protected. You also get to show whatever resolution/format you upload, it's not converted.

It's a great tool for us, we love it.
 
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