Using video testimonials on website?

[Dustin37]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

I run a webhosting company that has been pretty successful over the past couple of years in getting new customers. The past couple months have been a bit slow since there are so many big names out there overselling services by offering unlimited this and that - so I'm looking for a way to bring in some new customers and had a quick question.

There are about 30-40 reviews about my hosting company that are on YouTube from customers who say they enjoy using it. Would it be legal for me to use YouTube's embed feature to add these to my website so people can see what our customers have to say? I know that people agree to YouTube's TOS and have the option to not allow videos to be embedded so obviously I would only be using the ones where permission was given.

My main concern is the FTC's guidelines on endorsements since I wouldn't really have any proof of who the customers are or what account they had with us - basically not documentation - also it's very possible that some were created by affiliates.

However, I didn't think it would be a problem if I added them all on a reviews page and explained that these were reviews we gathered from YouTube where customers are talking about our services. And of course at the bottom of the page add in a disclaimer about how results aren't always the same and that the reviews hadn't been verified.

My concern isn't about having the rights to the videos since they are posted publicly on YouTube with the embed feature enabled. My main concern is that there is no way for me to say which review belongs to which customer in the case that it got investigated for something like false advertising or paid endorsements or whatever it's legally called.

Note: this is actually something I've been wanting to do for a long time but just wasn't sure if it was okay to do. The last thing I'd want to do is mislead someone or run into any legal issues - God knows we already have to deal with enough DMCAs for hosting accounts and trademark emails for domain names lol

Am I on the right track with doing this or could I run into legal issues or problems with the FTC for this?

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Texas

I run a webhosting company that has been pretty successful over the past couple of years in getting new customers. The past couple months have been a bit slow since there are so many big names out there overselling services by offering unlimited this and that - so I'm looking for a way to bring in some new customers and had a quick question.

There are about 30-40 reviews about my hosting company that are on YouTube from customers who say they enjoy using it. Would it be legal for me to use YouTube's embed feature to add these to my website so people can see what our customers have to say? I know that people agree to YouTube's TOS and have the option to not allow videos to be embedded so obviously I would only be using the ones where permission was given.

My main concern is the FTC's guidelines on endorsements since I wouldn't really have any proof of who the customers are or what account they had with us - basically not documentation - also it's very possible that some were created by affiliates.

However, I didn't think it would be a problem if I added them all on a reviews page and explained that these were reviews we gathered from YouTube where customers are talking about our services. And of course at the bottom of the page add in a disclaimer about how results aren't always the same and that the reviews hadn't been verified.

My concern isn't about having the rights to the videos since they are posted publicly on YouTube with the embed feature enabled. My main concern is that there is no way for me to say which review belongs to which customer in the case that it got investigated for something like false advertising or paid endorsements or whatever it's legally called.

Note: this is actually something I've been wanting to do for a long time but just wasn't sure if it was okay to do. The last thing I'd want to do is mislead someone or run into any legal issues - God knows we already have to deal with enough DMCAs for hosting accounts and trademark emails for domain names lol

Am I on the right track with doing this or could I run into legal issues or problems with the FTC for this?

First of all, I am going to address what you say you are NOT concerned about, because it can be a concern for you whether you think it should be or not.

When you embed a YouTube video on your website, even when the video has the "embed code" enabled, you can run into some legal problems.

When the embed code is enabled, the embedding on a website of the YouTube video is allowed, according to YouTube's own Terms of Service, BUT it is allowed for personal non-commercial uses only. In your described situation, you would be using the videos as a way to advertise your business services.

There have been copyright infringement lawsuits filed over the embedding of videos. Videos, even when the embed code has been enabled, can lead to copyright infringement suits when the videos contain copyrighted material that was infringed by the video-maker. If later these videos are imbedded by others, these others become contributorially liable for infringement and can be named as co-defendants in a suit.

There has also been a suit or two filed against an imbedder of a YouTube video by a YouTube video maker who did not realize there was an enable/disable imbed code. They were surprised to see their videos imbedded on another's website. Although these suits allow for a good infringement defense, they can still be a costly headache to resolve.

A good article written in 2009 by Joseph Pisano, Phd. ("Media Copyright: Embedding YouTube Clips On A Blog Or Website, Is It Legal?" copyrighted 2013, MusTech.Net: A Symphony of Music & Technology), covers nicely the issue of imbedding. Pisano is not an attorney but he presents legal information in an easy-to-understand fashion for those not comfortable with "legalese." You can access the article at: http://mustech.net/2009/04/embedding-youtube-clips-on-a-blog-or/.


Now, for the problems you could face with false advertising claims: You could find yourself sued by a competitor if your business has made false or misleading statements about your own product/service, or if your business has made false or misleading statements about your competitor, in an attempt to deceive consumers. These false and misleading statements can include video clips or printed reviews about your business. If these video clips or reviews are found to have been created by or "planted" by your business, you might need to shop for a good attorney.

It can be a legal risk, in other words, to use reviews to promote your business if you are not able to prove the reviews were created by real customers of your business.

There can also be issues for you, and for the reviewer, if a video review or a written review by a real customer defames or denigrates one of your competitors, and you choose to publish it anyway.

A suit against you by a competitor would be more likely, of course, if it affects the bottom line of the competitor.

You have some options:
One, you can ask your customers to review your business honestly by revealing their own identity and providing a video or written review for use on your website.

Two, you can have your site and proposed uses of YouTube videos reviewed by an attorney in your area to go over in specific detail the legal risks you face, and address them to reduce the risks.

Three, you can use the YouTube videos that review your business and that have the embed code enabled and hope that you do not get into trouble by using the videos in a commercial manner and violating YouTube's TOS, and hope that your competitors don't think it strange that so many of your customers have reviewed your business by video and investigate or challenge the origin of these reviews.

Good luck.

 

[quincy]

bumping this thread to bump spammer off main board