Copyright Law in Entertainment
Copyright Law in the US
Copyright Law in Entertainment is a subsection of the larger protections given by the US Government with Copyright. Copyright is the power that grants people the power to protect intellectual property by monopolizing the use of such material as they deem acceptable for a certain time frame. The US Government lays this out in the US Constitution under Article 1, Section 8, Clause 8 (also known more commonly as The Copyright Clause). The US Constitution states that the US Government has the right to promote the Progress of Science and useful Arts, by securing for limited Times to Authors and Inventors the exclusive Right to their respective Writings and Discoveries. The Copyright Law in the US through the protection given in the constitution protects both companies and individuals intellectual property in the form of media such as films, videos, and music.
History
The first instance of laws protecting the intellectual property of their creators dates back to Ancient Greece. The Greek city of Sybaris around 500 BCE has evidence to show that it practiced an early form of patent laws. In modern times, copyright protection was introduced in the United Kingdom in the sixteenth century in the 1556 Charter of the Worshipful Company of Stationers and Newspaper Makers and later expanded in 1710 under the Statute of Anne. The Copyright protections of intellectual property were first established in the United States under the Constitution through The Copyright Clause. Later the United States copyright law was subject to revision in the Copyright Act of 1976 outlined in Title 17 of the United States Code.
Copyright in New Media
The Copyright Law in the US through the protection given in the constitution protects both companies and individuals intellectual property in the form of media such as films, videos, and music. The most prominent form of copyright law in the United States of America occurs on new social media platforms. Many videos, music, and films are regularly used without the owner’s permission; thus, many companies use copyright laws to take down these posts on the new social media platforms. However, the rampant use of copyrighted posts leads to very tough enforcement of the copyright laws, so many new social media platforms give companies the power to file their copyright infringement claims. This power leads to an abuse of the copyright laws in place, creating a discussion on at what point is Copyright Law still ethical.
Youtube
In 2008, the media site Youtube was purchased by Google for 1.65 billion dollars. The social media company Youtube has grown into an entity with its ecosystem over the last decade, forcing youtube to build its very own legal system. Due to this huge popularity, Youtube was overwhelmed with the legal issue that came with so many of its users creating videos on its site. Youtube copyright policy created a copyright policy based heavily on The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (The DMCA). Passed in 1998, The Digital Millennium Copyright Act frees YouTube from liability when users upload infringing material without YouTube's knowledge, without requiring YouTube to actively patrol content for infringement. In exchange, Youtube would need to take down video content that violates copyright law. Youtube has a partnership program with its content creators that allows its content creators to share a portion of the ad revenue that they make from the video. Ad revenue can account for a large portion of the content creators income. Copyright claim on Youtube video leads to the Ad revenue of that video going to the claimer and gives the claimed Youtube channel a copyright strike. Each copyright strike significantly affects the partner’s channels and once a channel gets three strikes the channel will be terminated. To resolve copyright strike there are three methods: Submit a Counter-notice ( a counter-notice challenging the copyright strike by proving the video does not violate DMCA), Obtain a Retraction (A retraction of the copyright strike by the copyright owner if there is an error), Wait for Expiration (the ninety-day period in which the copyright strike expires).
Collaborative Writing Exercise: Copyright law in the entertainment industry can raise ethical issues related to the balance between protecting the rights of creators and the rights of consumers. For example, some argue that strict copyright laws can stifle creativity and limit the public's access to works, while others argue that more lenient laws can lead to piracy and devalue the work of creators. With strict copyright laws, consumers may have trouble accessing certain content due to higher prices. However, when copyright laws are more lenient, this can harm the creators. Copyrights are in place to protect a creator's intellectual property and make sure that they are properly compensated for their work, and to make sure that their work cannot be stolen or copied.
Sources: https://www.pbs.org/standards/media-law-101/copyright-fair-use/#:~:text=Copyright%20law%20protects%20original%20works,such%20works%20in%20limited%20circumstances. https://www.luc.edu/digitalethics/researchinitiatives/essays/archive/2016/copyrightinthedigitalagehowthetppextendsaflawedandharmfulpolicy/
