JohnD Posted July 13, 2006 Share Posted July 13, 2006 I've been wrestling with this for quite some time ... trying to balance the multitude of copyright issues that exist and the desire of our members to easily share the wide variety of media that is available on the net. However, after having reviewed the most recent document from DCI regarding their policy on photography and video recordings ...... I'm afraid that we're going to have to further restrict the links that we permit on the site. Effective Immediately: NO LINKS to audio or video recordings, other than those specifically provided for public viewing on the corps' or DCI's website, will be permitted on the Drum Corps Planet and affiliated sites' forums. This restriction is due to the specific restrictions that DCI has published regarding the creation and publication of photos and videos. Given the sheer number of 'amateur' videos floating around out there on the internet, it is extremely difficult to know which are sanctioned/authorized and those that are not. Our only manageable solution is to permit none of them to be displayed - either directly or via links from this site. Re-transmission or transcriptions of materials that are clearly copyrighted are never permitted on or via Drum Corps Planet. I know that this position will disappoint many - but federal copyright laws make it very clear that sites such as Drum Corps Planet assume some measure of liability for copyright infringement if they know of the infringement and take no action to remove access to the copyrighted material. I simply cannot expose the site and community to that liability. Should DCI change its position on use and distribution of audio and video recordings, I will be VERY happy to re-visit this issue and change our policy accordingly. The discussion over what constitutes "copyrighted materials" and "fair use" has been going on for many years .... and it won't be solved here, without changes in legislation or case-law. If anything, the law appears to be strengthening in-favor of the copyright owners - which many would argue is a good thing, while a similar number wouldn't. My hope is that some sort of consistency of distribution policy and enforcement will be followed by the copyright owners. That said - I don't see that we have any lee-way in the decision and must respect the letter of the law. Thank you for your understanding and support in this. -john Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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