AMV's are illegal?

[TopazRaven]

[font="Century Gothic"]Is it really true that making and posting AMV's or an animash video online is illegal? Random question I know. I just watch a lot of that stuff on YouTube. Could people really get sued for it?[/font]

[Radical Dreamer]

Moved to the Anime forum! As for your question, to my knowledge, yes, AMVs are technically illegal, since you're using clips from something that isn't entirely your own, or possibly a song that you didn't write, etc. I don't think there's any harm in watching them on Youtube (after all, I'm pretty sure copyright law states that the person who creates it or uploads it is the one to receive the punishment), and I'm pretty sure that most share that opinion (though I could obviously be wrong). XD

[TopazRaven]

I never put anything in the right section do I? *Facepalm.* Ah, really? That saddens me. No one is actually claiming to own the material, so what about that whole fair use thing? I myself do have videos posted on the site with music and fan-art, should I delete them then?

[Midknight74012]

I've posted 2 AMVs on YT and disclaimed the music and anime alike and where the credit for the material is due. So far, the only country that looks down on AMVs is Germany.

[Radical Dreamer]

I never put anything in the right section do I? *Facepalm.* Ah, really? That saddens me. No one is actually claiming to own the material, so what about that whole fair use thing? I myself do have videos posted on the site with music and fan-art, should I delete them then?

XD It's cool, I actually moved this thread to General Entertainment while honestly intending to move it to Anime, and then had to move it a second time when I realized my mistake. XD So this thread really just doesn't want to be told where to go, that's all. XD

Also, I wouldn't worry about taking anything off of Youtube. Usually, if anyone has a problem with it, Youtube will remove it themselves. At any rate, I know there are a whole lot of people on this board who know a lot more about actual copyright infringement than I do, so I'll let them give you more informed answers. XD

[Midori]

Actually, I think there are rules about fair use that apply to clips of shows (like excerpts of books), making them legal. It's the same reason it isn't illegal to put screenshots of an anime on your blog, or having an animated GIF in your signature. So, although I'm not a learned authority on matters of the law, I'm pretty sure most AMVs are legal.

[mechana2015]

I think the issue with most AMV's isn't actually the videos, but the music usage, since cutting up the video qualifies as editing and alteration. The music is usually applied whole (kind of the point) and the various governing bodies for music tend to take exception to that.

[Falx]

Yeah, so far every time some AMV-maker has come up against the law that I've seen it's been for the music.

Most notably Evanescence, since some not terribly bright young lad came up to them and told them how awesome their new music video is, when it was for a song that wasn't released to single and never got a music video in the first place.

[TopazRaven]

Yeah, so far every time some AMV-maker has come up against the law that I've seen it's been for the music.

Most notably Evanescence, since some not terribly bright young lad came up to them and told them how awesome their new music video is, when it was for a song that wasn't released to single and never got a music video in the first place.

Really? I'm pretty sure Evanescene is on the 'audio safe to use list.' They literally have like a playlist of approved songs on YouTube you can use for videos. Last time I checked in least. Two of my videos have been flagged for copyright infringment so far, but it says they are only banned in Germany and no further action is needed on my part. Does that mean the music owners have given me a pass then or something? 0.o I've never had a vid deleted yet or gotten a warning, but alot of people get terminated from YT for having multpile AMVs so I was just wondering. Want to make sure a police man isn't going to show up at my door and arrest me one day. Lol. I'm poor, I'd never be able to get through being sued. xD

[Atria35]

Iv'e gotten a warning for my AMVs.

It was both the music and video that got it taken down, since the music wasn't one of the approved songs and the video had been to a series that was licensed.

[TopazRaven]

Hehe, I don't think I'm going to make anymore videos then. I just don't want to be arrested or sued for what I do already have. 0.o

[Peanut]

Hehe, I don't think I'm going to make anymore videos then. I just don't want to be arrested or sued for what I do already have. 0.o

Youtube or the companies forcing them to take these efforts won't arrest or sue you. All that will happen is that your video will be taken down. If they did arrest and/or sue people for stuff like this, Team Four Star would probably all be in prison by now...

[TopazRaven]

Youtube or the companies forcing them to take these efforts won't arrest or sue you. All that will happen is that your video will be taken down. If they did arrest and/or sue people for stuff like this, Team Four Star would probably all be in prison by now...

Ok, good! Thanks for the info. I was subscribed to a person who took down all her videos, she mostly made stuff from Disney movies, because she said it was illegal and she didn't want to be arrested or sued so I was all like...they can do that!? Lol. I panic quite easily.

[Winry]

Everytime I have gotten warnings it was because of the music. I have had one of my videos taken down so far, but the rest have been left alone, at least for now. I think the worse they would do is close the account.

[TopazRaven]

You all are probably right. They'd have A LOT of people to sue otherwise. xD

[ShiroiHikari]

They'd spend more money on lawsuits than they're "losing" by letting people just use the darn songs...Sorry, I have no love for copyright laws or the record industry.

[Rusty Claymore]

Well, considering I have watched(and bought) many anime's I saw in AMVs, it's basically free advertising. XP

[Lynna]

I agree with Rusty. It was an AMV that got me into anime. Oh, Same with music, too. If I hear a song on youtube and like it, I normally want to know what artist it is. I listen to more music on Youtube than on The Radio. It was YouTube that got me into BarlowGirl, for example, and I now have all of their CDs

[Nate]

One of the big reasons for the fuss about the music being on Youtube (and why they get told to take it down) is that there are various programs out there that will allow you to basically get the song for free if you want. There's audio extractors, and even without those, if you have an audio recording program you can just play the video and record the sound, and boom, free song. Now granted it wouldn't always be the best quality, but for some people that doesn't matter.

So yeah, the big deal about AMVs is not the anime clips, but the music.

[ABlipinTime]

I guess with anime, from what you're saying, the music seems to be the issue.
That's not the case with all videos on Youtube. Understandably, companies do need to make money to survive and grow. That's why, for example, the movie Walle was repeatedly taken off Youtube the year it was released.

The most that Youtube has done, as far as I know, is suspend accounts. That's a far cry from suing people.

[Nate]

To be fair, someone interested in watching WALL-E on Youtube isn't going to buy the official release anyway. I mean, Youtube quality is nowhere near close to Blu-Ray quality (especially since the movie would have to be broken up into parts to contend with Youtube's upload limit). So removing it from Youtube really is just being picky as far as I'm concerned. If someone wants to deprive themselves of the beautiful visuals of the movie and deal with the hassle of watching it in parts, that's their business.

[Mithrandir]

If you read through the DMCA, it basically makes it totally illegal to do most of what's being done with AMVs. You can *try* to claim "fair use" on your material, but people don't seem to understand that fair use is not a law - it's a legal defense that can be used in court. Whether it will hold up or not is an entirely different matter. The DMCA provides that content holders can request material be taken down on sites like youtube. However, the OP can also opt to challenge the DMCA take down notice. Many people have successfully done this in the past.

That being said, I don't follow the laws as closely now as I used to, and INAL.

[Nate]

In addition, as far as I can recall, although the material uploaded by users on Youtube is solely the responsibility of the uploader, Youtube can still be held legally responsible for content. Meaning, if someone uploaded say, porn to Youtube, Youtube can't just sit back and say "Well it's not our fault, go after the guy who uploaded it!" They could still be held responsible for the content of the video if they didn't remove it.

So often, Youtube will take down videos because they're trying to cover their own butts, and crying "fair use" to them isn't going to work because they can't be entirely sure that the defense will hold up for them if THEY go to court. They don't care about if you go to court or not.

[Mithrandir]

So often, Youtube will take down videos because they're trying to cover their own butts, and crying "fair use" to them isn't going to work because they can't be entirely sure that the defense will hold up for them if THEY go to court. They don't care about if you go to court or not.

Actually, it has historically worked. I can think of one professor I know IRL who's done it. One could probably find some information regarding these kinds of issues with a quick google search, though.

[armeck]

I've posted 2 AMVs on YT and disclaimed the music and anime alike and where the credit for the material is due. So far, the only country that looks down on AMVs is Germany.

germany has blocked a lot of my videos, i don't have any amv's but my lyric videos get blocked there a lot

[airichan623]

Actually if you look on the FUNimation site, in the FAQ section, they make a statement on this:

Can I make an AMV/FMV of my favorite anime and upload it to YouTube?
We cannot expressly authorize you to upload video or use FUNimation’s content. However, we do not plan to take legal action against creators/distributors of anime-based media that qualifies as a fair use of the underlying animation. Nor do we tend to remove such media intentionally, provided that the video is clearly marked in a way that would identify it as a fair use [in the title] such as a satire, parody, review or critique. For more on fair use, please see this Wikipedia entry:

Also, please bear in mind that video streaming services such as YouTube occasionally employ "video fingerprinting" technology to identify and remove videos containing ANY unauthorized footage, whether it's arguably a fair use or not.

So FUNimation doesnt say they are illegal.
and i think if they were totally illegal, then the concept of AMV contests at cons would be a dead and done concept.

I've been wanting to make one for a looong time.

[ABlipinTime]

Quote: "... please see this Wikipedia entry"

Talk about scholarly on their part. LoL. Fortunately, on the Wikipedia page, under references, there's the link to the gov's site on fair use:
http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl102.html