My Work is Being Used Without Permission

Olaf99

Olaf99

Active member
I logged in to my Youtube account last night and saw one of my Youtube "friends" used my work and won two contests with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9VzZBzYPLE
(footage appears in upper left window)

The story goes like this:
-I work with a local for-profit Haunted House. We filmed the vid at this Haunted House I do work for using the owner's 14 year old daughter, my equip, and editing etc.
-I key out the greenscreen and make the girl blue and fuzzy like a ghost and post on Youtube for review
-Owner views my work online and sends me texts on my phone to tell me what he wants changed
-I upload the revised video and we start from the top.

We do it this way to save gas, postage, and time going back and forth with new versions of the vid. Then this guy from Chicago land Halloween comes by and steals it in the two week review period and uses it without asking.

I didn't copywrite my work so I don't really know if I even have a right to complain. (I think I will anyway) Is there anything I can point to in order to back up my complaint? We'll look like copycatters if someone saw his version of my work first when they come to our haunt in 2009.
 
No, but the guy I was working for is P!$$ed off too. We could probably "find" a copy of the contract lying around somewhere :-)
 
Not sure what to tell you about the current situation - but next time you need something reviewed like that you might want to look at using Vimeo, which will let you password protect videos and keep them out of the public listings.
 
Olaf99 said:
I logged in to my Youtube account last night and saw one of my Youtube "friends" used my work and won two contests with it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i9VzZBzYPLE
(footage appears in upper left window)

The story goes like this:
-I work with a local for-profit Haunted House. We filmed the vid at this Haunted House I do work for using the owner's 14 year old daughter, my equip, and editing etc.
-I key out the greenscreen and make the girl blue and fuzzy like a ghost and post on Youtube for review
-Owner views my work online and sends me texts on my phone to tell me what he wants changed
-I upload the revised video and we start from the top.

We do it this way to save gas, postage, and time going back and forth with new versions of the vid. Then this guy from Chicago land Halloween comes by and steals it in the two week review period and uses it without asking.

I didn't copywrite my work so I don't really know if I even have a right to complain. (I think I will anyway) Is there anything I can point to in order to back up my complaint? We'll look like copycatters if someone saw his version of my work first when they come to our haunt in 2009.
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While "work for hire" considerations may influence which of you owns the copyright, it is 99.99% certain that either you or the client for whom you made the video owns it and the person who "borrowed" it is infringing. Copyright exists the moment the work is created and happens automatically. You don't have to register it with anyone or do anything to create the copyright except create the video. Time for you to consult an attorney and get a "cease and desist" demand letter off to the person who pirated your work.

There's a major flaw in your approach, if I may offer an opinion. I feel no one in the general public should ever see a creative work until it's done, polished, and as perfect as you can make it except the people directly involved in its creation. Posting what is essentially a "rough draft" on YouTube (or anywhere else) for all the world to see before it's fully cooked just doesn't make sense. Seeing the rough cut should be on a need-to-know basis. Consider using a secure file transfer service such as YouSendIt to send videos to your client for his review instead of letting it hang-out publically.
 
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I didn't realize it was copyrighted as soon as I made it. That's really good to know.

As for your opinion on my approach, I absolutely agree. I was thinking about vimeo and will consider YouSendIt as well.

When I posted to Youtube I could have made it invisible to the public but unfortunately that wouldn't have stopped this guy since it doesn't hide it from your Youtube "friends"; of which this guy was one.

I have since taken down all but one video on Youtube. I had home vids of my kid so my family could see her but I feel really uncomfortable with that now.
 
I was under a totally different set of assumptions before watching the clip. So the "contests" in question were home decoration contests and not video contests, correct?

What were the rewards given to this friend for winning the contests?

I may ruffle some feathers, but the "stolen" video looks to be a very minor portion of the set. It may have been a crappy move for your friend to use the video without permission, but if minimal reward was gained, maybe you could simply ask him to publicly credit your work.

An attorney? Really?
 
shutterspeedfilms said:
I...
I may ruffle some feathers, but the "stolen" video looks to be a very minor portion of the set. It may have been a crappy move for your friend to use the video without permission, but if minimal reward was gained, maybe you could simply ask him to publicly credit your work.

An attorney? Really?
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Really. If you don't vigorously persue any infrigments when they are discovered, the work in question may be cast into the public domain and you forever lose any control over it, no matter what the purpose of making subsequent copies. Once copyright is lost, it's gone forever for all purposes. If he doesn't take this guy on, when someone else also makes an unlicensed copy of the same video and puts it on a DVD of "The Best of Internet Video" that he then makes a fortune selling, our OP will have no recourse. Any rights he may have originally had to his work will have been forever forfeit by his inaction now.
 
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shutterspeedfilms said:
I was under a totally different set of assumptions before watching the clip. So the "contests" in question were home decoration contests and not video contests, correct?

What were the rewards given to this friend for winning the contests?

I may ruffle some feathers, but the "stolen" video looks to be a very minor portion of the set. It may have been a crappy move for your friend to use the video without permission, but if minimal reward was gained, maybe you could simply ask him to publicly credit your work.

An attorney? Really?
Click to expand...

I another contest he won and he received a "CTB16PC Controller" from a hardware company for his work. From what I gather that is a $249.00 unit. It's not much but it is recognition of work that wasn't entirely all his as he claims when he writes "Most props are one of a kind handmade or fabricated"; then gives no credit to me. I think the statement that my vid is a minor part of the show is a matter of opinion BTW.

I'm definitely not looking for money but I wonder how I can handle this without looking like a lawsuit crazed money grubber. I'm thinking about calling him and just asking him why he didn't ask me before using it. If he's combative I guess I will consider the legal route although I'm not crazy about doing that.

The bottom line with this thing IS NOT the money, Its that I am out here trying to make a name for myself within a very specific niche of the market and within that niche, someone outright stole something from me and is getting recognition and free press from it! I'll never use Youtube for my good stuff again. What's pathetic about it though, is that the video he used was my second draft. We went through two more and made it way cooler.
 
The first step, and usually the only thing required, is to have an attorney send a "cease and desist" letter requiring him to remove your material from his production. You have to be stronger than asking him why he didn't ask permission - you have to assert the work is your property and since he did not have permission to use it, he must stop doing so. It doesn't mean you're demanding money or anything else, only that your work is yours and anyone who uses it must get permission first, that you'll defend your right to control to what uses your work can be put and by who.
 
Steve House said:
The first step, and usually the only thing required, is to have an attorney send a "cease and desist" letter requiring him to remove your material from his production. You have to be stronger than asking him why he didn't ask permission - you have to assert the work is your property and since he did not have permission to use it, he must stop doing so. It doesn't mean you're demanding money or anything else, only that your work is yours and anyone who uses it must get permission first, that you'll defend your right to control to what uses your work can be put and by who.
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You have a good point. I know an attorney who should be able to give me a decent rate for this.

Thanks for your help!
 
Just don't post unprotected work publicly. FTPs are used for secure viewing. Uploading unprotected approvals to youtube forfits all rights to gripe about giving it away.
You can send an email but don't spend money on this one.
 
Some very good responses here from everyone, especially Steve.

I would agree with Grinner and not spend any money on an Attorney. It's pretty likely the guy used it without thinking much about it, and if you wrote or called in a reasonably friendly, but firm way, he'll probably stop using it immediately and apologize.

Using someone else's music for your own home videos is perfectly fine. But so few people realize that as soon as you cross over to contests, festivals, etc. you're violating copyright laws.

All of this has become so common, it's almost the norm these days!

Yes, in the future use Vimeo. A much nicer website overall than YT anyway.
 
Olaf99 said:
I didn't realize it was copyrighted as soon as I made it. That's really good to know.
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It is, and Steve is right, the copyright law says that anything is copyrighted once it is "fixed in a tangible medium of expression," and film of any sort, books, articles, whatever, they are all tangible forms of expression. They are verifiable and the work is automatically copyrighted. Anything beyond that is a formality and does make it easier in a court of law, I would imagine, to prove proper copyright information.

But yeah you should be ticked and have the right to pursue legal action.
 
Olaf99 said:
I'm definitely not looking for money but I wonder how I can handle this without looking like a lawsuit crazed money grubber. I'm thinking about calling him and just asking him why he didn't ask me before using it. If he's combative I guess I will consider the legal route although I'm not crazy about doing that.
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Buy a carton of eggs, and set them in your garage until next Halloween...
 
This crap drives me crazy, egg that guy for me too.

[Begin Rant] A few years ago, we took some photos of our kids into a local frame shop. We get the art back after paying for it, and the next week in the paper is an ad with our kids photo in it. I went back and read the owner the riot act (my wife that I was crazy and unfounded- 'be nice to everyone'). Store owner, be professional, get a photo release. The owner of the photo store wanted to get paid for his work...why not pay me for mine and the images of my kids? Its called capitalism, and it helps pay the mortgage.

I wish 'outsiders' and hobbyists like the one OLAF wrote about got this concept, but until then it looks like cease & decist will be our best friend.
 
An update for those of you following this thread. I've drafted a letter and sent it to my client to proofread before I send it to the guy who took my vid. Here it is:

{Hello Thom,
I recently saw your latest Youtube post “Cool Computerized Halloween House Yard Haunt”. I couldn’t help but notice that you used a video clip I created in the top left window of your home haunt. I was a little surprised and disappointed that you did so without my permission and without crediting me for the work.

The video in question was produced for a for-profit haunt that I work for developing props and illusions. I went through several drafts posting them to Youtube and having the owner suggest modifications for each subsequent draft. It was not meant for my subscribers/friends use in other projects without my consent.

I realize that what’s done is done, and that your home haunt is not just for entertainment purposes alone. I’ve researched you and your activities and found that you conduct a canned food drive through your haunt and that you produce "..." (no free advertising here buddy!). Those are excellent activities and I’m glad you put your work to benefit your community in a positive way. I also know that you probably put a lot of hard work and creativity into your projects; as do I.

Therefore, I am asking that you not use our video in subsequent productions and that if, should you like us to do work for you in the future, you ask first. I cannot say that we would have given you permission to use this specific clip, as it was intended for an illusion in our haunted attraction. However, I may be open to working in partnership on other projects down the road.

Thank you for your attention in this matter,

-Jim}

 
UPDATE. Here is the result of my letter:

"Re: Cool Computerized Halloween House Yard Haunt
Jim,

Im really sorry for ripping you ghost video. I originally got the video to use as an example to create a clip of my kids (illumination effect) but with the whole website, feed drive etc. I never got around to it. There was no malicious intent and I again, I apologize. There was never any intention of reproducing it for profit. I must say the people who saw my house really liked it. As far as crediting you I would be happy to add it to my description.

One of chicagolandhalloween.com primary objectives other than the Haunts Against Hunger food drive and Dougie is featuring and promoting Illinois dark talent. I noticed you are a into making short films. Last year we helped promote Illinois film makers Michael Lansu (Resurrection Mary), Ron Fitzgerald & John Lachargo (Magus). If there is anyway we could cross promote we would be happy too. Maybe we can feature one of your shorts on CLH Fear Theater.


I actually wanted to see if I could have purchased a clip/legit my haunt? Until now I forgot that you were the source and when I went through my YouTube friends I realized the clip had been removed and did know where it came from. Again, my humble apology and will not display the clip again unless you permit it..


Thom"

I'm satisfied with his response. I know I could have gone further but I like taking the nice road first and only getting combative when necessary. In this case, it obviously isn't necessary as far as I'm concerned.
 
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