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Embedding Youtube music videos

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chrischen21

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Michigan

I'm developing this new website that will allow you to listen to any song you want by using YouTube.

Basically you type in an artist or song and songs are returned. When you click on a song it searches youtube for that song title and artist and uses the first result and plays it for you.

I know there are many songs uploaded legally by labels but also a lot of illegally uploaded songs. I want to know if I can be sued for embedding the illegal ones and if my site can operate legally sound. If it can't, are there any workarounds?

Thanks,
 
Last edited by a moderator:


chrischen21

Junior Member
After doing some research about the potential illegality of theinternet.fm, here is what I've found.

This is an excerpt from the article found on the Electronic Frontier Foundation website

That leaves contributory infringement. If you link to a video that you know is infringing, or that any reasonable person would have known is infringing, and if your link materially contributes to the infringement, then you could be liable for contributory infringement -- a kind of "aiding and abetting" liability.

theinternet.fm is an automated service and song matching is done automatically by our servers and if in the case an illegally uploaded song is matched by our database it is not by our knowledge. It is assumed that the users of Youtube abide by its Terms of Service when uploading videos, so it is also assumed that the requested song is a legally uploaded version. If not, theinternet.fm can take down the offending video by request.

Let me know if I am right.
 

divgradcurl

Senior Member
As you can probably tell from your internet searches, this is an area of the law that is still evolving. The EFF has some sharp lawyers, but keep in mind their bias -- while they do try and provide balanced analysis, they are definitely on the side of freedom on the internet(not a bad thing, mind you -- I am not saying they are wrong, just know their biases).

Yes, contributory infringement is a possibility. However, you might want to read up on 17 U.S.C. 512(c), the "DMCA Takedown Notice: statute. Basically, if you follow all of the rules of that statute -- basically making sure that you have an address where you can be contacted, etc. -- and follow the rules if you receive a takedown notice, you may be able to avoid, or at least limit, contributory liability in the same way the YouTube and eBay and other sites do.
 

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