12 articles
What stops a video most often isn't its quality but someone else's right inside it. Five articles on what you can and can't use, how to film people with respect, and what to do when your work gets copied.
Laws differ between countries. These are general principles, not legal advice.
Using other people's material — Photos and archive footage · Clips from someone else's content
When you film — In public places · Filming other people
When your work is copied — What to do about it
He paid the shooter and took the video. A year later he asked for a clip from the rushes and was told the rushes belong to the shooter. Why a fee does not transfer ownership, and four clauses in one message that settle it before work starts.
· Say
The man said "go ahead" in front of the camera, and seven months later asked for the video to be taken down. Eight items in a release anybody can understand, three forms of permission on the ground, and the rule for children that allows no slack.
· Say
He had permission to film in the square, and a takedown request still arrived because a sculpture appeared in the background. Three different rights that can live in one frame, incidental appearance versus subject, and four fixes in the edit.
· Say
A notice arrived with the words "copyright" in it, so he deleted the video within two minutes out of fear. It was a claim and not a strike, and deleting did not cancel it. The difference, four cases for each, and when to dispute.
· Say
He built his channel's identity on a beautiful font from a site that said "free", and a year later the designer emailed him. The difference between three things everyone conflates, the five meanings of the word free, and one file that saves you.
· Say
They took his drone at customs before he left the airport and handed him a paper in a language he could not read. Four questions that settle any country, which sources to trust and in what order, and five minutes on the ground before every flight.
· Say
You open your phone in the morning to an email from the platform: your video has been removed. Three things not to do in the first hour, the difference between the three types, and how to write an appeal that gets read.
· Say
You searched for the safe number and every site gave a different one. Why that number doesn't exist, the one question that settles it, and practical rules that reduce your risk.
· Say
He said "filming? Sure, go ahead", then called a month later asking you to take it down. The difference between real consent and consent to something misunderstood, and the different rule for children.
· Say
You set up the tripod in the mall, and four minutes later a security guard was standing in front of you. Why "looks public" isn't "is public", how to ask permission, and what to do if you're told to stop.
· Say
You took an image from search results, put it in your video, and the claim arrived a year later. The licence types you'll meet, what isn't a licence, and a one-line system that protects you.
· Say
A friend sends you a link: your whole video on someone else's account, under someone else's name, with twice your views. The first hour is for documenting, not replying, and four steps in order.
· Say
