Making money from someone else's copyrighted film

http://www.videomaker.com/article/15953-9-copyright-laws-every-video-producer-should-know

Ok Pond5. Notice: I didn't start the thread talking about super 8 films bought on garage sales or on Ebay. What about the guy that has Hitler, Stalin and II world war footage: do you really think he's the owner of the copyright? Or you just pretend not to see that. It's just a question, just to know if this night I can start recording from HISTORY HD and make footage of that. Producers pay a lot of money for historical footage to actual copyright owners, I think the best way to be professional is that inspectors take a little more care about videos they approve.

By agreeing to the contributor terms when you register, we take you at your word that you have the right to sell media in our marketplace. We do not suspect each and every contributor but we do have the curatorial process to inspect issues as they come up. Pond5 curators look at each clip that is submitted and we are satisfied with the job that they do.

I think it is just a matter of time before Pond5 get sued, I hope they have good lawyers / insurance / deep pockets as I cannot believe that some of the archive material on here is either Public Domain or owned by the seller (happy to be proved wrong though!)

I'm actually happy with the freedom Pond 5 affords us as artists. As I always say, if you don't like meat, then don't eat it (I don't), if you don't like guns, don't buy one (I love guns), and if you don't like public domain footage, don't sell it (I don't). These old copyright laws are up for various interpretations, and many times there is no definitive answer. Just because something seems wrong to you or I, doesn't mean its actually illegal. It doesn't serve any purpose to rat out or throw under the bus other sellers over what they're selling, or beat up Pond 5 curators over it. No one is getting sued over this stuff. The cost and time involved in bringing a lawsuit, the uncertainty of said laws applying to this stuff, and the relatively low financial gain to be had through a lawsuit involving this stuff, makes it pretty foolish to even try it. Production companies have way more on their plate keeping more recent stuff from being pirated than they care about Laurel and Hardy kicking each other in the ass for $45.

@TE do you think for one minute that the artist who uploaded material he/she didn't own the rights too is free and clear of any and all law suites. Then you should go back and read the contributors agreement and terms of use.

HI Jason

Let's continue the discussion in the artist forum.

TE