the privatisation situation

[raocow]

Alright, so, foward progress I suppose

I just received a list of allll~~ the videos YouTube flagged as potential issues. The guy told me that if I can isolate the idendity of those who are solid 'maybes', they can bulk restore every other videos.

Just to be prudent, I thought I'd single out my playthroughs of commercial games, just to be on the super safe side - my mmx intermission, kirby 3, vvvvvv... are there any others? Also I remember using music in a single tsrp2 (youtube replay) so I should probably leave that one isolated for now too. Anything else? Anything I should perhaps consider? Anything I should remember?

[kilon]

I don't think so.
Unless in this bonus video: "democracy is a shame! vote anyway please?" you where playing a non freeware game.
But I vaguely recall it being Mugen so that's no problem.

[Wyatt]

I remember you playing this dumb game where the main character was a skateboarding hamburger. Pretty sure you were just playing the free demo, but it's still worth noting. Also this never even got privatized, I guess 'cause it's already not viewable in Canada and probably the U.S.

[rubberfishy]

So you can't get away with unprivatising commercial games but just not putting the ad's on them?

[megamario]

but vvvvvv is indie it shouldn't matter

[Ziv]

You might wanna look up what ZUN's stance is on Touhou copyright.

[O-Card]

last I heard smw is a commercial game

[raocow]

Technically I'm playing a mod though, and I'm bringing it up as such.

And ZUN litteraly lets everyone ever just do whatever with Touhou so.

[megamario]

Technically I'm playing a mod though, and I'm bringing it up as such.

And ZUN litteraly lets everyone ever just do whatever with Touhou so.

In fact the whole mess with copyright is one of the reasons why he's never bothered with trying to bring it over properly.


Also I can't help but think that saying "Oh I only play modified versions of that commercial game" helps that much. But I don't know a lot about copyrights so

[kilon]

vvvvvv can only be removed when the creator files a complaint about it. Didn't he watch the LP though? Then I see zero reason for him to get it removed, so you should be safe about that game.
Indie game developers are usually pretty lenient about stuff like this anyway.

[raocow]

Honestly, I should be fine with any of them because there are machinima partners out there who have modern game lps going on and that's apparently not an issue.

I'm just being very careful I guess?

[Kewne]

Technically I'm playing a mod though, and I'm bringing it up as such.

And ZUN litteraly lets everyone ever just do whatever with Touhou so.

It's actually not all that open when it comes to his own direct work. I don't think he really minds at all though, there's a trillion videos out there on YouTube and Nico. I don't think you had any mainline Touhou videos other than that announcement while playing SWR, though.

The Mega Man intermission might be a problem if you transferred copyright to the channel or got paid for it. Just because they never aired it doesn't mean the copyright isn't sitting around somewhere. I don't know the full details about it, though, so this is just an educated guess.

Everything else should be fine really, I'm not aware of any LP being legitimately taken down in the history of LPs. There's only been that DMCA abuse a year or so ago, but that wasn't from the actual copyright holder and was aimed at getting personal information from the counter-notice and being a general troll rather than taking them down (broken law and all that).

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, blah blah blah.

[Ziv]

Technically I'm playing a mod though, and I'm bringing it up as such.

And ZUN litteraly lets everyone ever just do whatever with Touhou so.

It's actually not all that open when it comes to his own direct work. I don't think he really minds at all though, there's a trillion videos out there on YouTube and Nico. I don't think you had any mainline Touhou videos other than that announcement while playing SWR, though.

The Mega Man intermission might be a problem if you transferred copyright to the channel or got paid for it. Just because they never aired it doesn't mean the copyright isn't sitting around somewhere. I don't know the full details about it, though, so this is just an educated guess.

Everything else should be fine really, I'm not aware of any LP being legitimately taken down in the history of LPs. There's only been that DMCA abuse a year or so ago, but that wasn't from the actual copyright holder and was aimed at getting personal information from the counter-notice and being a general troll rather than taking them down (broken law and all that).

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer, blah blah blah.

It does say in that touhou copyright thingy:

The copyright of derivative works belong to the creators of said derivatives.

[truthordeal]

Commentary's fair use. Even if the creators wanted to take it down, boo on them. But I guess you're the type to not want to step on people's toes, so yeah, pretty much everything except Kirby and Megaman is ok.

[TRS]

I looked through youtube's help page to see if there was some way to help remedy the situation, and I think I found a way to allow us to watch the videos without potentially screwing yourself over (apparently). You can set private videos so that they can be watched by up to fifty youtube accounts. So my idea:

1) Create a new account and post the username and password here.
2) Set your private videos so they can be watched by this account.

Problem (temporarily) solved.

[limepie20]

Yeah wouldn't the account just get deleted by dumb people all the time?

[RikunFrances]

I dunno if the copyright "problem" comes from the fact that it's the game itself or the means the game was procured.
In 2010 a new part of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act was made basically stating that the game you are using is being used in good faith. Meaning, you're either being accused of using a ROM of a game that you downloaded from the internet, and you don't own it.
Example: I don't physically own a copy of Shadowrun for the SNES, but I get a ROM for it and then LP it on Youtube. This is against the law, and subject to copyright infringement, as I do not legally own the cart.
I do however own a physical copy of the cart so even if I have the ROM on my computer to play, it's perfectly legal for me.
Here's the law in case you need to see it (via Wiki): The information derived from the security testing is used or maintained in a manner that does not facilitate copyright infringement or a violation of applicable law. (A new exemption in 2010.)

If none of your ROMS are illegally gained, all your LPs should not be a problem. You specifically said VVVVV was purchased, so it shouldn't be a problem there.
ROMhacks are in a weird spot, but I believe the fact that the whole engine has been tinkered with to create a whole different game is considered fair use.
Touhou fan games are fanmade and are freeware games, thus there is no problem there.
Commentary is a form of fair use, as you are commentating over the game.
The rights are those of the game, but you have your own protection over your voice. You don't outright say the games are yours either.

I am a bit fuzzy on U.S. laws, because, well, most of them are poorly written and just contain so many weird things and ifs. I hope this clears up something, somehow.

[Terry von Feleday]

The ROMs-are-legal-if-you-have-a-physical-copy thing is only true if you have made the ROM yourself as far as I'm aware. There's a difference between making your own backup of your data and downloading said backup from the internet, I guess.

EDIT: Wait, can you elaborate on that little law you quoted? I can't read legalese so I'm not sure how it relates to ROMs in particular. If this is a new thing in 2010 it's possible the above no longer applies.

[rubberfishy]

I think this legality rom stuff is irrelevant to the privatisation situation.

[peteyboo]

Well, Chuggaaconroy has his MOTHER 3 run which *looks it up* does have ads.

I'm not sure how different that is considering there IS no English version of the game, but it's still a ROM and he's still making money from its videos.

[Mischlings]

Well, Chuggaaconroy has his MOTHER 3 run which *looks it up* does have ads.

I'm not sure how different that is considering there IS no English version of the game, but it's still a ROM and he's still making money from its videos.

Well, I know that he owns a Japanese copy of the game. He's also very strongly against pirating in general and only used a ROM for that because there is no legal way to get that game in English in the US. It probably also helps that the creator of the Mother series supported the translation (basically ROM hacking) project.

Really, the legal issues are probably not as large as everyone seems to think. It is important, but Fair Use mostly hinges on the use of the work being transformative, so I think raocow would be okay.

[GauRocks]

The MMX intermission and the music usage are the only things that are on shaky legal ground. MMX because of the way it was produced, and the music because fair use only extends to short clips.

If any of your Kirby videos show the emulator, it's probably a good idea to keep those private too. Other than that, you're fine.

[Sebby19]

I guess becoming a partner wasn't such a hot idea after all

[Oracle of Wuffing]

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer ho ho ho who would have guessed so you shouldn't take my advice as any legal advice! (Yes, you do need to say this, because US Law can make circumstances where giving someone legal advice and not being a lawyer is super-breaking-the-law because it's like crime by association or something.)

Here's the law in case you need to see it (via Wiki): The information derived from the security testing is used or maintained in a manner that does not facilitate copyright infringement or a violation of applicable law. (A new exemption in 2010.)

It is very arguable that a Let's Play is not legally applicable for security testing (and thus is not such an exception by definition), and it is also very arguable that a Let's Play facilitates Copyright Infringement and possibly Trademark Law (but really nobody gives a shit about the Trademark Law aspect). For example, a really angry poopy guy who wants to crap in everybody's pool and doesn't understand the most fundamental parts of public relations can say that the music and graphics are being copied and redistributed out of Mega Man X, and thus you are robbing that company (really retail stores (and by that I mean Pawn Shops) but really that's the way it would be portrayed) of money because people are hearing their game's music and seeing their games graphics without actually paying for the game. Even saying "This gaem was maded by Cappycam nad I maek no moneys of this" doesn't "clear" someone of this, 'cause otherwise a court would basically have to say "Okay, torrenting warez is legal now," if it wanted to call that fair use.

Yes, one could argue that the loss of graphical quality and distortion in sound is suitably changing the source material, but at that point you're already in court and paying a lawyer. You're now in the realm of "Unauthorized Derivative Work," which US Law basically loves to rape.

... most of them [US Laws] are poorly written and just contain so many weird things...

This. One thousand times.

If you want to be poopy and jerky about laws, the Mega Man X playthrough is probably less illegal than the romhack playthroughs. Yes, distributing IPS patches is generally legal, but fair use, as it is an exception, cannot be assumed on a given entity until after a legal authority proclaims thusly (and even then, said ruling can be challenged in the future at any time). Furthermore, commentary that spans a whole work, or just the most important parts of said work, is not typically covered by fair use (Folsom v. Marsh, 9 F.Cas. 342 (1841), in which copying some 350 pages of a 12-volume biography to produce a shorter biography was deemed unfair use and unreasonable criticism). After that, you have this hurdle where a "Let's Play" is likely for entertainment purposes first, and commentary purposes second. This is assuming you have a judge/jury that will even give you the time of day and doesn't just go "Well, computers are like, complicated, so I'll just go with what that guy said about tubes and trucks!"

Basically, like, the entire ROM Hacking and Let's Play communities are able to exist because companies and developers are selecting not to be douches on the matter. Given how many people LP and edit ROMs but don't get Cease orders, though, there shouldn't be a practical reason to keep anything privatized. There was probably just some automated thing that wasn't very smart flagging videos just because, and it just wasn't very smart.

[kilon]

Ok.
And what about the Canadian law? Isn't that more important seeing how raocow's Canadian and all. That has little to do with the US law, right?