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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2011 20:29:21 GMT -5
www.joystiq.com/2011/07/02/lets-play-videos-may-soon-make-you-a-felon-thanks-to-senate-b/Hold on to your butts, Internet, because this party is going to get a whole lot worse before it gets any better. According to Game Informer, a Senate Bill has been introduced which, if passed, would make streaming unauthorized copyrighted material a felony, resulting in up to 5-years of jail time. Bill S.978 states that "10 or more public performances by electronic means, during any 180-day period, of 1 or more copyrighted works" will result in "not more than 5 years" of imprisonment, so long as the performance in question is valued at at-least $2,500 USD, or if the value of a license to legally "perform" the content is valued at $5,000 or more. These are, in essence, the same criteria that allow for DMCA take-down notices to be issued by copyright holders, however jail time and felony status are not currently associated with this particular flavor of copyright infringement. Should this bill jump through all the right hoops, its broadly worded contents could potentially cover everything from homemade gameplay clips (commonly referred to "Let's Play" videos), to fan-made music videos, webcam cover songs, and anything else that involves copyrighted music or video. S.978 could also potentially cover cell-phone videos of concerts and press events, making 13-year-old Beliebers and jaded gaming journalists alike equally in danger of losing their right to vote. If accepted into law, these addenda will be attached to existing copyright laws and will not only apply to YouTube users, but to the sites that embed YouTube content as well. Internet activism group Demand Progress has set up a web-form for those who disagree with the legislation and wish to communicate their displeasure to their local representatives. We would be concerned about the bill's implications as well, but fear not dear reader: the legislation doesn't cover puppet shows as far as we can tell, so Joystiq Playhouse's shadow-kabuki production of Battle Arena Toshinden should still be on track.
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Post by Bob Schlapowitz on Jul 5, 2011 20:35:57 GMT -5
I will sleep much better at night knowing that these despicable criminals will be off the streets.
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Post by Cyno on Jul 5, 2011 20:36:55 GMT -5
I will sleep much better at night knowing that these despicable criminals will be off the streets. They aren't on the streets anyway. They're too busy making let's play videos.  |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2011 20:41:39 GMT -5
Even if the senate passes it, it'll fail in the House.
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Post by rapidfire187 on Jul 5, 2011 20:43:31 GMT -5
act.demandprogress.org/sign/ten_strikes/?source=fbYou can go to that site and fill out a quick form to send to congress about the issue. I personally don't think the bill will pass as it's written, but crazier things have happened. I think that the bill is mostly written as a way to keep people from streaming movies and maybe even music on Youtube, which admittedly is a big problem, it's just poorly written so it would include video games as well. An LP would be possible, but you'd have to seek out permission from the copyright owner and that would be a huge pain in the ass. However there's a few catches here. 1.) This is a US law that's being proposed. If an LPer from say, England violated the rule I can't imagine what would happen. At worst I guess they'd just have their videos removed and/or account shut down. Regardless, I'm pretty sure they could still post their videos on non-US based video streaming sites. 2.) Youtube already does not take down video game footage for being copyrighted material, so I can't see why this new law would change that. 3.) It would basically come down to the copyright holder pressing charges I think. You post a Let's Play of LA Noire, and after you post over 10 parts Rockstar decides to press charges. Like I said before, these videos don't get removed from youtube as is (whereas other copyrighted material does) so I don't see why it would suddenly be a problem. I'm not saying I support the bill AT ALL. I'm 100% against it as I think it's purely a civil matter that shouldn't result in criminal charges. However, if it does pass I don't think it's going to be as bad as people are fearing.
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Post by VenomFang on Jul 5, 2011 20:43:37 GMT -5
Wouldnt bother me if they were illegal. I thought it was a great and entertaining concept at first but after you listen to the voices of a lot of these people a lot of them have terrible annoying voices and can barely string a coherent sentence together.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2011 20:45:04 GMT -5
Well, have fun policing it then.
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theryno665
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wants a title underneath the stars
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Post by theryno665 on Jul 5, 2011 20:45:12 GMT -5
But how else are we gonna learn about Mawio when he was a baybee?
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Malcolm
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Post by Malcolm on Jul 5, 2011 20:55:42 GMT -5
Wouldnt bother me if they were illegal. I thought it was a great and entertaining concept at first but after you listen to the voices of a lot of these people a lot of them have terrible annoying voices and can barely string a coherent sentence together. I couldn't care less about Let's Play videos. I'm, however, more worried about what will happen to gameplay videos in general especially since they have aided me in some game purchases. Edit: Sorry about the could care less thing. I know how it steams some peoples' beans here. |
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Jul 5, 2011 20:56:18 GMT -5
This wouldn't endanger just "Let's Play" videos, this would make, for example, the yearly Mario Marathon for Child's Play, a freaking charity event, illegal. I would image it would heavily damage interest in the fighting game community, because the only way a lot of people get to see the major tournaments is via live streams of the tournaments. This law would make those live streams illegal as well.
Edit: I would also love to see what this law, if passed, would do to GameTrailers. GameTrailers' entire business is based around streaming trailers and gameplay videos for games.
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Post by forgottensinpwf on Jul 5, 2011 20:57:14 GMT -5
But how else are we gonna learn about Mawio when he was a baybee? Or learn of Bowser's evil test? |
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2011 20:58:06 GMT -5
This just isn't for gaming, it's for movies and music as well. Somebody performing drunk karaoke of a Katy Perry song and posting it on YouTube could be illegal.
This bill passing would mean the end of stuff like that. YouTube would be dead in the f***ing water if this goes through (which I highly doubt, but you never know)
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Post by alabastergrim on Jul 5, 2011 20:59:11 GMT -5
I think at worst that people who make Let's Play videos are dorks with too much time on their hands but they certainly shouldn't be locked up. Ridiculous.
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Post by rapidfire187 on Jul 5, 2011 20:59:15 GMT -5
Wouldnt bother me if they were illegal. I thought it was a great and entertaining concept at first but after you listen to the voices of a lot of these people a lot of them have terrible annoying voices and can barely string a coherent sentence together. Just because there are some terrible LPers out there doesn't mean that there aren't some equally great ones. DeceasedCrab for instance is more entertaining than the games that he plays. I'm a huge fan of Let's Play videos. My youtube subscription list is like 95% LPers, and 5% Maffew. BTW, if Maffew were a US resident, he could face criminal charges for Botchamania if this law passes. |
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Post by Koda, Master Crunchyroller on Jul 5, 2011 21:00:42 GMT -5
This just isn't for gaming, it's for movies and music as well. Somebody performing drunk karaoke of a Katy Perry song and posting it on YouTube could be illegal. This bill passing would mean the end of stuff like that. YouTube would be dead in the f***ing water if this goes through (which I highly doubt, but you never know) Yeah, this would kill YouTube, which is, like GameTrailers(another site that would be absolutely demolished by this law), is a legitimate business. This law, if passed, could potentially cost people jobs. |
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Post by Seth Drakin of Monster Crap on Jul 5, 2011 21:28:10 GMT -5
I hope this law does not pass. I did not watch Let's Plays years ago (I stopped because the number released got too much for me to watch all of them) for the storyline spoilers, I did it because I enjoyed listening to the person talk while playing.
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Post by Deleted on Jul 5, 2011 21:28:20 GMT -5
I remember reading an article where a Capcom rep was asked about it. The gaming community in particular want this to go through so they can pull anything leaked (a player showing gameplay footage on a leaked copy, or playing a leaked demo like the Gears 3 leak that's been floating around) and that (as far as Capcom is concerned) they wouldn't pull tournament footage or anything involving games that are released already. Supposedly the law is meant to just get the serious offenders. Some games already have the ability to upload footage to Youtube, I cannot imagine someone getting put away for using a feature in a game.
The other part of this is people who stream PPVs being in trouble. This I also understand. It's a huge problem that people have been trying to find a solution to for awhile.
I'm personally afraid for the Youtube Poop community. It's already widely known how little a "give-a-damn" companies give about satire/parody clause when it comes to the internet. My younger bro is paying attention to it and pretty much has the finger on the "account shutdown" button if this goes through in this condition.
I'm also afraid of the people who've uploaded footage on an account and then just forgot about the account or can't because they forgot a password or something; no way to get it off. You shouldn't be reprimanded for videos uploaded before the law (that's part of the constitution I believe...not being held accountable for breaking a law when it didn't exist), but ya never know.
This could be a deathblow to a VERY large part of the internet community.
And for people saying they're so sure it won't go through, it has A LOT of industry support and VERY little industry opposition. Hopefully it won't go through but I'd love to know why some of you are SO sure it wont...
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Post by forgottensinpwf on Jul 5, 2011 21:31:52 GMT -5
If it goes through (though I honestly doubt it will. It tramples too much over fair use to possibly ever be legalized), the internet reviewer community is completely f***ed. Say goodbye to sites like Screwattack and That Guy With the Glasses.
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Post by VenomFang on Jul 5, 2011 21:36:39 GMT -5
If it goes through (though I honestly doubt it will. It tramples too much over fair use to possibly ever be legalized), the internet reviewer community is completely f***ed. Say goodbye to sites like Screwattack and That Guy With the Glasses. Sucks if your a fan of that type of thing but there are people out there who think those kinds of guys are unfunny hacks. The "internet reviewer community" phenomenon has gotten way out of hand. Its a place where talent doesnt matter. |
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Post by alabastergrim on Jul 5, 2011 21:39:28 GMT -5
If it goes through (though I honestly doubt it will. It tramples too much over fair use to possibly ever be legalized), the internet reviewer community is completely f***ed. Say goodbye to sites like Screwattack and That Guy With the Glasses. Sucks if your a fan of that type of thing but there are people out there who think those kinds of guys are unfunny hacks. The "internet reviewer community" phenomenon has gotten way out of hand. Its a place where talent doesnt matter. Not a fan of That Guy With The Glasses at all so I'm with ya on that one but god damn I'd miss Screwattack. Sidescrollers would still be able to happen though. |
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