Embedding a video with copyrighted material

[lydia09]

Hi everybody,
I'm not sure if this is the right forum to post this in, if it isn't, sorry.

Anyway, I have a video that I'll be posting on YouTube relatively soon that I also want to post on my web site. The video is made by me, but it uses copyrighted music. I've gotten permission from the author of the music to use it, but I just wanted to make sure that uploading this video onto my web site wasn't a violation of copyright or x10hosting terms. Is this OK?

Thanks,
Lydia

[misson]

If you have permission to use copyrighted material, it's not a violation of copyright law, simple as that. Just make sure you post a notice that it's used with permission of the artist so your site isn't mistakenly suspended.

Additionally, the X10 Terms of Service only states that hosting copyrighted material isn't allowed; linking to copyrighted material isn't mentioned. However, this doesn't mean that someone wouldn't get suspended.

Beyond that, embedding copyrighted material hosted on another site isn't considered direct copyright infringement as it's a form of linking (though the issue is new enough that it isn't entirely settled). However, while this is a viable defense, it wouldn't keep someone (or their host) from being sued (though the copyright holder is unlikely to do so without first issuing a takedown notice). Someone that knowingly links to copyrighted material could be found guilty of contributory infringement.

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and none of this post should be construed as legal advice.

References:

• Bayard, Sam; "Embedded Video and Copyright Infringement"; pub. by Citizen Media Law Project, 2007
• von Lohmann, Fred; "YouTube Embedding and Copyright"; pub. by Electronic Frontier Foundation, 2007

[cybrax]

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer and none of this post should be construed as legal advice.

Provided the piece of music being used is just a short extract from a track and not the entire thing then you're probably ok under the 'fair-use' policy/defense, though it's something of a grey legal area.

If you are still worried then I would suggest using music from the Internet Archive http://www.archive.org/details/audio
these are still subject to copyright but it is the less draconian Creative Commons Copyright, normally all the artist asks for is to be credited and sometimes a backlink to their site or record label.