Casey McKinnion was the first to point out that MyHeavy, another YouTube wannabe, has been stealing content from web video producers and re-posting the videos without permission to profit from major ad sales. Mine was among those stolen. We’ve received no compensation, yet they put a pre-roll ad and surrounded the entire video with a wrapped ad.
It appears they’ve taken mostly Blip.tv videos, but Google Video uploads are appearing there as well. Mike from Blip has emailed them and is taking this very seriously. Veoh once did this but was quick to remove the videos when asked to do so. We’ll see if MyHeavy will admit to their own content theft.
They’ve just gotten a 12.3M VC cash infusion, so I hope their investors are listening. I’m considering billing them. Mike Howell has done so and I am sorely tempted. Josh Wolfe’s video of the G8 demonstrations were aired w/o his permission by news outlets and he billed and was paid for their usage, according to Enric. I’m wondering if that is the route we should go.
First off, I’m very sorry to hear about your recent problems with MyHeavy. One of the drawbacks of the YouTube and portable media movement is that, for the first time, those works are easy to steal. Historically video has gotten a bye on plagiarism and content theft issues because it was so difficult to work with. That is clearly no more.
I find it pretty amazing that a company with as much backing as MyHeavy would do this. One would think those millions would buy at least one decent attorney.
The big problem here is that, unless you register your works with the Copyright Office, they are liable for the greatest of the amount that they gained or the amount that you lost. All in all, not much either way.
Billing them might be an effective strategy. I’ve seen it work before and well. Larger sites, like MyHeavy, might be more cooperative as they can’t just shut down and run away. However, there isn’t that much one can do if they thumb their noses at you, unless you are prepared to sue.
If I were you, I’d look up their hosting information and considering filing a DMCA notice to get the works removed. If you need help with that, I’ll gladly assist. Just shoot me an email or use the contact form on my site.
I’d have that information handy even if you decide to send them an invoice. It’s your best way to get the work removed if they refuse to cooperate.
Hope that this helps!
Thanks for the insight and the offer. Much appreciated. I’ll keep you all posted as to what happens. The videoblogging community is certainly up in arms. What a mess…
Also, I didn’t realize you were Sull. Glad to meet you off list 🙂
Robyn,
I’m glad to be of service. Feel free to pass my name on to any other video bloggers who might have use for it. I’m glad to help.
Just keep in touch and let me know what, if anything, I can do!
It’s nice to speak with you as well!