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Copyright Issue
By Quehegan, RPG RPG Revolution
2009-01-13 14:34:02 - Hello all;
I am Jay Fougere, IT Manager for iEntry Inc.
I understand that the wording in our legal notice is a bit ambiguous and has lent itself to misinterpretations.
First of all, iEntry does not want to "steal" anyone's content. That particular section in the legal notice is there to provide us with permission to publish your content on RRR and to be able to promote RRR on other sites etc.... Basically, it is saying that by submitting your content, we have your permission (as copyright holder) to publish that content on the site. It is also saying that any content you publish could be used on another of our sites to promote RRR.
RRR could not exist without some disclaimer to this effect, and that is a standard boiler-plate statement. In fact, the person who was blogging about how they have no statement to that effect puts themselves in a precarious situation. If there is no disclaimer (as they claim), they cannot legally publish any of the replies they receive to their blog as they have never obtained the permission of the copyright holder of those replies (either directly or implied)!!
Now I understand the concerns that iEntry is going to take your games and republish them for profit. That is not our (now or in the future) intention however it is very difficult to distinguish between that and permission to publish on RRR and our other network sites. In fact, the reason it specifically mentions commercial distribution is twofold; first of all any advertisements sharing a page with any of that content constitutes commercial distribution - secondly, simply being on our servers (which are owned by a corporate entity) makes the use commercial.
I just looked at Youtube's legal statements regarding submissions and if it would make you all feel better we could reword our statement to be something similar, though I believe their legal statement is more restrictive than ours. Check it out here: http://www.youtube.com/t/terms Section 6
6. Your User Submissions and Conduct
A. As a YouTube account holder you may submit video content ("User Videos") and textual content ("User Comments"). User Videos and User Comments are collectively referred to as "User Submissions." You understand that whether or not such User Submissions are published, YouTube does not guarantee any confidentiality with respect to any User Submissions.
B. You shall be solely responsible for your own User Submissions and the consequences of posting or publishing them. In connection with User Submissions, you affirm, represent, and/or warrant that: you own or have the necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions to use and authorize YouTube to use all patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights in and to any and all User Submissions to enable inclusion and use of the User Submissions in the manner contemplated by the Website and these Terms of Service.
C. For clarity, you retain all of your ownership rights in your User Submissions. However, by submitting User Submissions to YouTube, you hereby grant YouTube a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform the User Submissions in connection with the YouTube Website and YouTube's (and its successors' and affiliates') business, including without limitation for promoting and redistributing part or all of the YouTube Website (and derivative works thereof) in any media formats and through any media channels. You also hereby grant each user of the YouTube Website a non-exclusive license to access your User Submissions through the Website, and to use, reproduce, distribute, display and perform such User Submissions as permitted through the functionality of the Website and under these Terms of Service. The above licenses granted by you in User Videos terminate within a commercially reasonable time after you remove or delete your User Videos from the YouTube Service. You understand and agree, however, that YouTube may retain, but not display, distribute, or perform, server copies of User Submissions that have been removed or deleted. The above licenses granted by you in User Comments are perpetual and irrevocable.
D. In connection with User Submissions, you further agree that you will not submit material that is copyrighted, protected by trade secret or otherwise subject to third party proprietary rights, including privacy and publicity rights, unless you are the owner of such rights or have permission from their rightful owner to post the material and to grant YouTube all of the license rights granted herein.
E. You further agree that you will not, in connection with User Submissions, submit material that is contrary to the YouTube Community Guidelines, found at http://www.youtube.com/t/community_guidelines, which may be updated from time to time, or contrary to applicable local, national, and international laws and regulations.
F. YouTube does not endorse any User Submission or any opinion, recommendation, or advice expressed therein, and YouTube expressly disclaims any and all liability in connection with User Submissions. YouTube does not permit copyright infringing activities and infringement of intellectual property rights on its Website, and YouTube will remove all Content and User Submissions if properly notified that such Content or User Submission infringes on another's intellectual property rights. YouTube reserves the right to remove Content and User Submissions without prior notice.
In summary, whoever created and submitted the original content remains the copyright holder and retains all of the rights and privileges that entails. This is not something that iEntry wants to change in any way. iEntry does not want to usurp your rights to your content.
We are also open to suggestions as to how to remedy this situation in a manner that is amiable to all.
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