Legalities of using YouTube videos for VJing

[vjbeach]

I'm new to VJing and see that this forum has a strict policy against copyright infringement, but I have a question about using YouTube, Vimeo and other online video content in VJ work so I hope its OK to ask.

I understand that YouTube and the others have policies that prohibit people from downloading their videos but has anyone here ever heard of someone being sued or even receiving a "cease and desist" letter for downloading a YouTube video? Could this be considered something like driving 5 miles over the speed limit, which is against the law but rarely gets enforced?

In the world of VJing, do you think you might be exposing your client (nightclub or venue) to legal action if you play videos from YouTube?

I'm wondering if a record label would really have a case if you downloaded one of their music videos and played it publicly... I mean, why do they even make a music video if they don't want it to be seen by as many people as possible? Nobody pays to watch music videos in a theater like a movie so how could they make a case that they lose money from the exposure?

Is this something I should be concerned about?

(By the way, my reason for downloading videos online is of course to save money but also because I can get them quicker than waiting for a company to release them. Also, some content online cannot be obtained in any other way.)

[many2]

Youtube is only the messenger. It's like a TV channel : it presents content.

What determines your right to use any media work originates from its creator. The creator can sell this right, share it, not care about it, or be willing to go to court to defend it. But the TV station and youtube have nothing to do with it.

Why do Cable TV uses encrypted signals then ? Why is youtube making it so hard to download and save videos ? Because the rightsholders are asking for it. Else, you'd have a big "Download" button just right there.

Will you get into trouble for using videos from youtube ? It depends.
Some stuff there is public domain - you can use it freely.
Some stuff there is from big hollywood productions - this smells more like trouble.
There is only one LEGAL way to know : identify the rightsholder(s) and ask them.

[alfaleader]

That's why vimeo is so easy, you can see which licence applies (so you can see if you can use it for free).

But mostly on youtube you need to ask the maker (technically) but use your common sense and you won't get in trouble.