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My Footage Used In NBC Commercial Without Permission

Tim Milgram

Tim Milgram

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So I just stumbled across a commercial on NBC's website for an upcoming TV show, and in that commercial there are two quick clips of footage that I own that they took from my YouTube channel. Nobody reached out to me to ask to license these clips. Before I reach out to a lawyer I was hoping I could see if any of you know the legality behind this, or if any of you have experienced something like this and took action.

Would appreciate the advice!
 
Did you copyright it and state that on your youtube channel. I would contact them first and let them know you created that footage and if you could be of any service. The reason why..They could pay you or hire you for projects. The bad part is they will continue to run it and tie you up in court with lawyer fees and make you prove your copyright with a certificate number and date /year you completed the copyright.
 
Aaron michaels said:
Did you copyright it and state that on your youtube channel. I would contact them first and let them know you created that footage and if you could be of any service. The reason why..They could pay you or hire you for projects. The bad part is they will continue to run it and tie you up in court with lawyer fees and make you prove your copyright with a certificate number and date /year you completed the copyright.
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All due respect, Aaron - and I'm not a lawyer - but I believe you're incorrect.

At least in the US, there is no need/real mechanism by which to "copyright" something. You own the copyright of anything you create, the second you create it. You don't need to register it, or state it on your youtube channel. Copyright just exists.

So clearly here NBC has breached your copyright, so you have grounds to sue for relief.

That suit could include not just what they should have paid in the first place to license the clips, but also punitive damages, your costs and even the price of the damage to your brand, etc.

Cases like this often don't make it to court, and the mere act of initiating the suit or even threatening to will lead to them wanting to settle, dependent on how much it is you're asking for.

Step 1: lawyer up with someone very experienced in this exact field.

Step 2: do whatever the lawyer suggests.
 
I stand corrected: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Copyright_registration

"In the United States, the United States Copyright Office accepts registrations. For works created in the US by US citizens, a registration is also required before an infringement suit may be filed in a US court. Furthermore, copyright holders cannot claim statutory damages or attorney's fees unless the work was registered prior to infringement, or within three months of publication.[6]"

While it is true that copyright exists at the moment of creation, it seems you may be required to register copyright in some form before you can sue for infringement, although the registration does not need to happen before the infringement to secure statutory damages, just within 3 months. Which may or may not apply here.


Either way, there is clear infringement and you should consult a lawyer.
 
As the old copyright campaign stated,

"If it's created, it's copyrighted."

To create something is to own it and have complete rights to it.

(possibly why creation vs. evolution is so hotly debated, but that's for a discussion in some other forum :) ).
 
I'm an attorney. For copyright protection, the work need to be created, and must also be PUBLISHED. In this case, it clearly satisfied the creation and publication part.
For the long run, you don't necessarily want to lawyer up, instead get a representative to contact NBC, and do what Aaron suggests. Ask them if you could be of help. You may get a long time client this way. It's just a better approach overall.
 
Šabović Adis;1702518 said:
...and by publishing Your property You make it public property.
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This is exactly right. How do you think all those still pictures of people who are dead in some big news story get on TV? Facebook. If you publish something on a social media like Facebook or Youtube, and you don't password protect it, they can use it, and they do. I am no lawyer, but was a TV News Reporter for 28 years and while they are careful about making sure what they use is what it is purported to be, anything in the public domain can, has, and will be used. You think the Today Show every morning finds whomever shot whatever silly thing they find on Youtube to ask their permission to show it. I can assure you they do not.
 
Scot Yount said:
This is exactly right. How do you think all those still pictures of people who are dead in some big news story get on TV? Facebook. If you publish something on a social media like Facebook or Youtube, and you don't password protect it, they can use it, and they do. I am no lawyer, but was a TV News Reporter for 28 years and while they are careful about making sure what they use is what it is purported to be, anything in the public domain can, has, and will be used. You think the Today Show every morning finds whomever shot whatever silly thing they find on Youtube to ask their permission to show it. I can assure you they do not.
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This clip wasn't used as a part of a news story. It was used in a commercial for an upcoming TV show. I totally wouldn't be posting on here asking about it it was part of some news story; I actually agree with you there.
 
Jacob Ryan said:
I'm an attorney. For copyright protection, the work need to be created, and must also be PUBLISHED. In this case, it clearly satisfied the creation and publication part.
For the long run, you don't necessarily want to lawyer up, instead get a representative to contact NBC, and do what Aaron suggests. Ask them if you could be of help. You may get a long time client this way. It's just a better approach overall.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice! Should this representative be a lawyer?
 
Tim Milgram said:
This clip wasn't used as a part of a news story. It was used in a commercial for an upcoming TV show. I totally wouldn't be posting on here asking about it it was part of some news story; I actually agree with you there.
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You may be right. I only have experience in news, which many people on this board would be surprised to learn can do lots of things you can't do in commercial production. Like just shoot people on the street, no release required, shoot people's houses and businesses, even when they come out yelling at you. I should mention that this reminds me that I do not miss news one f'ing bit.
 
I found the promo with your footage in it. And while as previously stated, I am no lawyer, as a former NBC employee, I can tell you that news or no, they are super careful about everything legal. Will be interesting to hear what you find out.
 
Tim, almost ALL my clients are TV networks making promos, and I'm very familiar with their attitudes on this.

PM me and I'll walk you through it.
 
Scot Yount said:
This is exactly right. How do you think all those still pictures of people who are dead in some big news story get on TV? Facebook. If you publish something on a social media like Facebook or Youtube, and you don't password protect it, they can use it, and they do. I am no lawyer, but was a TV News Reporter for 28 years and while they are careful about making sure what they use is what it is purported to be, anything in the public domain can, has, and will be used. You think the Today Show every morning finds whomever shot whatever silly thing they find on Youtube to ask their permission to show it. I can assure you they do not.
Click to expand...

Well, private property is a strange concept to me too. :rofl:

:thumbsup:
 
Just for the record, publishing something does not put it in the public domain.

And yes, editorial use is different than commercial use.
 
You need to network because in most cases they ask for a name...use this to your advantage..bragging rights. keep a copy of the clip and let people know that your work was so good it made the news or NBC used your work =) Use social media to build a fan base.
 
There was a fair use article on notfilmschool I think, in December or November.

I thought they got rid of the archaic copyright registration system and adopted the foreign automatic system.

However, get details from a legal professional. I'm pretty sure news networks fly close to the wind and have agreements with YouTube to use whatever, not that you know about it.

The beg forgiveness model if you can't bluff your way out of it, rather than seek permission. The mere act if lawyering up is enough to deter people for others to get away with it
 
Wayne Morellini said:
There was a fair use article on notfilmschool I think, in December or November.

I thought they got rid of the archaic copyright registration system and adopted the fireugb automatic system.

However, get details from a legal professional. I'm pretty sure news netwitmrks fly close to the wind and have agreements with YouTube to use whatever, not that you know about it.

The beg forgiveness model if you can't bluff your way out of it, rather than seek permission. The mere act if lawyering up is enough to deter people for others to get away with it
Click to expand...

The networks have no agreements with Youtube. They just don't.
 
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