We’re getting really close now to launching our social net, and a few other NFL teams seem to be serious about using the system too (for their fan bases). Of course now that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, our lawyers remind me that fans might choose to upload copyrighted material to our site, and to other teams’ sites.
Copyrighted material could include music, video, photos and more. All the stuff our fans will want to upload to their personal pages. Apparently our liability will would increase for every team we add to the system.
So we’re watching very closely as Viacom and YouTube battle it out
My friend, Ed Sullivan from Infield Parking, sent me some good information about the Digital Millenium Copyright Act which provides “safe harbor” for Web hosts and ISPs against 3rd party copyright infringement. He also sent me a link to his site’s “take down” policy. My lawyers agree that we need to follow similar procedures, but they insist that these measures won’t protect us completely if a copyright owner wants to take us to task.
Still, there’s some evidence that we’ll be able to find a way through this.
Clearly there is benefit to Viacom and other copyright holders when their material gets passed around the net. Network TV shows, for example, can end up getting more viewership as a result “illiegal” clips going viral on the net. So as Viacom pursues justice to protect its property, it has to realize that people pirating this content can help its own cause. Ironic!
A study released yesterday from Vidmeter seems to downplay the volume of copyrighted video on the major social systems (like YouTube).
EMI, which found a way to make more money by giving it away, is going to allow Apple to sell its songs without copy protection (NYT Story here)
And finally, the most important news today (to me anyway) 
I get my guitar tabs back! That’s right, the powers that ripped all the free, user generated guitar tabs and chords off the net have figured out a way to make money…and have agreed to set my music free again (read story here)
There seems to be a trend here, doesn’t there?
I suggest again to contact Joshua Fairfield at IU Bloomington to talk about his ideas about virtual property and legality of EULA’s. What you are talking about is limiting your own liability in case your members make copyright mistakes, but if the reaction - customary in licensing agreements - is to attempt to claim ownership of user-generated content, that’s likely the wrong side of wave you are surfing.
[...] Rainy days copyright laws won’t get me down - Sports Marketing 2.0 | Pat Coyle We’re getting really close now to launching our social net, and a few other NFL teams seem to be serious about using the system too (for their fan bases). Of course now that we can see the light at the end of the tunnel, our lawyers remind me… (tags: social-networking colts patcoyle legal copyright) [...]