Thursday, December 31, 2009
TeamFourStar's Original Account Returns [News]
Through some unknown magical process of Youtubical alchemy, TeamFourStar's original YouTube channel has been restored. Currently it hosts only a few minor side videos and no actual DBZ Abridged episodes, and the whole thing seems rather quaint compared to the team's official web site. No word yet on whether any new content will be posted to the channel or if it will simply remain as a stern reminder about what happens when you cross Toei. (Note: What happens when you cross Toei is that you get banned from YouTube, start a backup account, start an awesome web site, remain as popular as ever, and eventually get restored to your original YouTube account with no apparent rhyme or reason. Tremble, gaijin.)
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I gave Kaiser some information a couple weeks ago about how YouTube's anti copyright infringement bot works. He acted on it, and it took a couple weeks for the account to come back up. The videos are private right now to avoid risking another strike while they decide what to do.
ReplyDeleteAnd how does that bot work?
ReplyDeleteThe bot is given a basic profile of the footage or music that the copyright holders wish to prevent from popping up on YouTube. This consists of tags, key phrases, titles, and codings which recognizes the music and footage itself.
ReplyDeleteHowever, this bot is easily tripped up by minor adjustments: Leaving out key tags and titles of the footage/music, changing the pitch of the music even by a fraction, or adjusting the footage by zooming in or changing its aspect-ratio. By doing these things, many users on YT can overcome companies' bots and put copyrighted material onto YouTube.
But when material IS taken down by YT's bot, it is possible to counter the YouTube claim by telling YouTube that the video itself is under fair-use laws, and that YouTube itself is forced to oblige by those laws. But when responding to these counter-claims, it depends on the user's popularity. If the user is only pulling in a few dozen subscribers, the method might be rejected. However, in the case of 1KidsEntertainment and TeamFourStar, they found the possibility of the users' viral marketing to be profitable on their side, and allow the counterclaim to go through.
But also, it'll depend on the English and Japanese companies themselves. With companies like FUNimation, they'll let it slide. But companies like Bandai and Toei might make the process difficult.
In any case, it'll be up to the user in charge of the parody to whether or not to counter the claim. And in most cases, most people will say no.
There have been two cases in which I've countered a copyright claim. In one case it was because the company in question did not own the copyright to the song in question (I did some research and found that the rights reverted to the original songwriter after their contract expired). In the other I countered on fair use grounds.
ReplyDeleteIn both cases, the video went back up immediately after I filed the counter. In the former case, the video is still up just fine and I've had no further problems. In the latter case, after a day or two the video went back down, with YT saying that the copyright-holder had reviewed the content and still felt that their rights were being infringed. Still working on a solution to that one.
Hm, that sure is odd. But I guess it does reveal another hidden piece of the puzzle -- the companies really do receive the counter claims.
ReplyDelete