Whilst I am widely in favour of Creative Commons and the sharing of original works for use in subsequent derrivative works, particularly in my case for sharing music to use in machinima films (many thanks to Kevin MacLeod of Incompetech.com for help in this regard).
I am also happy from time to time when asked and credited as the researcher, author, poet or machinima maker for my works to be shared on other peoples websites, either a video, poem or whole blog post.
I do not feel so happy however when my film is used without permission, also this is not one of my better films, being laggy and clumsy in execution, but I doubt I would feel any better had the chosen one of more technically profficient, later films either.
The film in question, mine, is StoneHenge 2010 (Virtually)
The pirate copy is LKA-Stonehenge.mov
by you tube user austintorn
AND posted by the same user some 3months after his first theft,
HERE IT IS AGAIN, Stonehenge.Mov only this time WITH my audio,
haha just as I intended it to be, nearly....
Im glad he finally saw sense and liked my music too !
My immediate response after surprise, was to comment below that video pointing out the theft below the stolen work and asking him to remove it directly;
ironically i have used a warner brothers image here to illustrate my feelings, i hope that everyone realises i do not pretend to own this picture, and i promise not to make any money by having shared it here. Perhaps we could call this respectful useage 'fair use' as i do not pretend to the ownership nor seek to profit by its use..
I have thoughtfully also made this suggestion for mr. austintorn;
As you have copied my machinima and possibly others, why dont you just download a free VR and get a game cam and make your own, much more rewarding and fun than theft.
What To Do When Your Original Content is Stolen, when your suffer a Copyright Theft?
Unfortunately I have had no response from the user.
Fortunately however, you tube have an option to report such violations, which can be found across the bottom of your you tube account page, see HELP, and then go to the Copyright tab and proceed to enter details of the infringement as follows;
This will once completed lead to a page of personal details where you may provide your actual name/address etc and aliases will not suffice.
Following submission you shall recieve an email that requests more information of the violations, details of which work of yours has been stolen, wether completely, just visual, audio or both.
It Is important at this point to provide the administrators with as much exact details as possible so that they can clearly and easily see the problem;
Here is my response;
StoneHenge 2010 (Virtually)
What type of copyrighted work is it?
It is a machinima film, which I filmed at Heritage Key Virtual Archaeological World
What is the subject of the work?
At the start I have shown the arrival platforms of Heritage Key VR and then go on to show the stages of StoneHenge at different periods of history, which i also flagged to the viewer by indicating the year with scrolling name and date across the screen ie STONEHEGE 1500 BC etc
When was it authored?
I had been filming and editing over a few days and published this to you tube on 26 June 2010
Where was it authored?
It was filmed online in Heritage Key Virtual Archaeological World, from my home address
By whom was it authored?
I am the author of this film.
What is your copyright registration number and date for this work, if registered?
I have not registered a copyright number, but have placed c. Celestial Elf 2010 onscreen at the end of the film (in the section with the thief has edited out).
I would like to share specifics over the theft of my film footage,
you tube account holder austintorn has replaced the audio entirelyand starts his version of my film by editing out all the Heritage Key refferences at start of the film
where his start point is 0.00 this corresponds to my film at point 1.53
(even including the detail of a tree 'popping' which is where it has not been rendered correctly in the virtual world viewer)
The footage contains and remains identical (other than that his version has a less distinct colourisation ) and at point 2.26 on my film/0.33 on his pirated version, you will notice a jolt or jump of the camera, this has occured because I was moving the camera on my computer faster than the graphics card could render the environment, so this is not a part of the Heritage Key experience but is unique to my computer useage and is like a fingerprint............
I would also point out that the camera views taken throughout as seen in both films, the camera angles, speed of movement, pan and zoom shots etc are all unique to myself and are not a part of the Heritage Key experience, it is not possible to just log on to Heritage Key and be 'taken' to the same views and angles etc etc, these are all choices i have made.
Also the progression from one time period to another, which I have symbolised with the scrolling letters and dates, these are not included in the Heritage Key viewer travelling across the screen but have been inserted in my film by myself.
Similar 'popping' as of the tree earlier can also be seen on the heads of two people in the stonehenge circle on my film at 2.32, and on the pirate version at 0.38-9
At his point 0.58 he moves on to my next scene of 3.08
in this way he has clipped out the footage where i focus on the avatar itself, which was myself.
The films run paralel and exactly the same (other than pirate being worse quality image) from that last edit of his onwards,
see at point 3.44 on my film/1.33 on the pirate copy, that both cameras wobble at exactly the same point, sadly for me the wobbling of camera does continue throughout my scenes, and you will notice, particularly if you play the films in tandem from the points that i have identified, the theft is inescapabale.....
Where the pirated version of ends at his point 3.32 of his version, this corresponds precisely with point 5.42 of my film, my film then goes on with other scenes.
Please therefore check the published by dates
check the copyright permissions in text below films which i have included and he has not,
(he has not even mentioned that his version of the film comes from Heritage Key, but i had explicitly asked them if it was ok to use in a film and been given permission)
AND please play both films in tandem from the points i identify;
His 0.00/MINE 1.53
His 0.58/MINE 3.08
His End = 3.32/CORRESPONDS PRECISELY MINE 5.42
Many Thanks for your assistance ~
Once replied, the outcome is in the hands of the you tube administrators and if they agree that my film, published some months prior to the copy is in fact the original and has been violated, we may expect to see that the copy should be removed from the offenders account.
He may also suffer consequences such as having his account threatened with closure if he carries out such a practise again.
heres another warner brothers image which i also do not pretend to own, but i think it speaks to the situation of powerles anger very well, and i promise not to make any money by having shared it here also.Update No. 1. at 31 May 11.25pm; Great News...
you tube admin have today removed the first illegal copy of my film.
Update No 2. at 2nd June 8.00am; More Great News...
you tube admin have removed the second illegal copy of my film :D
Best Wishes and Good Luck out there, elf ~
Sorry to hear that this has happened to you, hope youtube deal with the video thief appropriately. I am glad in one way that this blog has appeared as the rest of us know how to deal with such matters if they arise.
ReplyDeleteAnd to the youtuber known as 'austintorn' I got one thing to say....you thieving illegitimate son of a lopsided camel!
I think it's terrible, and I hope they take this guy down, and fast. Yet I also can't help but notice you also used Looney Tunes characters on your page, and likely without permission of Warner Brothers.
ReplyDeleteThanks Marriane, i think that the main difference here is that it is self evident that the Looney Tunes images are by Warner Brothers, if anybody didnt know that,
ReplyDeletelet me take this opportunity to say
I give all credit for use of Looney Tunes Artwork To Warner Brothers,
I will be happy to remove immediately if they ask me to...
And I think that this is the main difference, as the other you tube user pretends that my work is his own,
do you see my point?
Oh, I do. No question. Just something that struck me.
ReplyDeleteHi again Marianne, well i had a bit more of a think and it occured to me that Warner Brothers along with many other big corporate powers (coca-cola, nike, apple etc) have spent billions over decades trying to make their product or creation a part of our collective subconscious, a meme or trope of our lingua franca, and they do suceed in many cases.
ReplyDeleteIn this case i would say that my use of an image which everybody on earth knows i have not made, nor do i pretend to have authored it, is in fact using the cultural tools of expression that the modern and visual medium has provided us with, that Yosemenite Sam (?) expresess rage and powerles anger has become a given, and my use of it ( and of wily coyote as both cheeky and lucky) is both ironic and an unwitting tribute to its author, to say nothing of the free advertising i provide.
And yes, my use of such imagery gave me pause for thought too.
(Dolittlesaymuch again)
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for sharing this experience with us.
I would say I have mixed feelings about these copyright issues, but in fact my feelings aren't "mixed," they're just double-sided. As a creator who likes to use third party content when appropriate, I can see both sides of the coin and I can also see a bigger picture. Like Warner Brothers and Coca Cola and WMG and Sony and all the big guns, I do not EVER wish to see my work pirated. However, seeing my work appear in places I would have never had the occasion to post it, with proper attribution and credit, is free advertising and word of mouth at its most effective.
So while I vehemently disagree with overt theft like austintorn committed, I also think some of the existing copyright laws are over the top and often work against the copyright owners instead of in their favor. I chose an overused Evanescence song for my latest video for the sole reason that it's available as an audioswap on YouTube, and therefore legal. Evanscence enjoys extreme popularity in their genre, yet they've also allowed YouTube certain non-profit rights to their music. I have to wonder--how much of their early success can Evanescence chalk up to all the free advertising they got from the machinima crowd and homemade videos?
@Dolittlesaymuch, whilst the antics of such as austintorn do not bear mention, I agree and am delighted when other Blogs and Wordpress account holders ask me for permission to embed my films in their posts, with just the requisite and corteous acknowledgement that it was made by Celestial Elf. I also agree that many copyright restrictions would appear to stifle creativity, as of parody films, or tribute videos made by fans perhaps. But as you rightly say, you tube is increasingly making more music avaliable to use, and more recently Vimeo has opened a music store which contains both some free to use music and some for which an appropriate licence for the intended use must be paid. Perhaps the trend will continue and there is hope for more third party licensing of music ahead.
ReplyDelete