The non-credits roll...

 

Above is a clip from last Wednesday's episode of The Insider that Tracie spotted and snagged for me. Though they've added some typical tabloid-TV sparkle wipes, they play the first 20 seconds of my Everything you need to know about Mariah Carey on HSN video from last week. The clips and cuts are identical. I didn't see this episode's credits, so for all I know they maybe said something about the source of the video coming from YouTube (in this clip it sure doesn't seem like they're selling the montage of Mariah talking about her pregnancy as anything but their own). Whatever. Obviously, this happens. And then what happens next is I post about it. It's too much part of the natural order of things to get upset at this point. I'm laughing, really I am.

(And in a weird way, their taking a 20 second clip counts as fair use, I guess, credited or not. Right?)

Update: Via the New York Times Arts Beat blog, The Insider has responded:

As a fast-paced daily news program, we are presented with numerous news items to incorporate into our broadcast. This news item went into our show without a mention of the blog, but we are posting a story on TheInsider.com about the fourfour blog post with a link to the site.

It's nice to be acknowledged!

Comments

[norman]

these are high class problems. get over it.

[Mike]

you know this, but it's not your content to begin with so no one is required to credit you and it's silly for you to try to claim ownership of it. this is what happens when you spend all of your time sitting back, criticizing and ripping apart and picking at the scraps of other people's work rather than creating your own.

[Chance]

Dear Mike,

Don't be a dick.

Love, Chance

[Bart]

It's not about Rich claiming ownership. What he's doing is social commentary and if someone's going to "quote" it they should give him credit just like they might quote an Opinion piece at the Times or spend the time finding a different set of clips that he did to find his.

[torrinpaige]

Having edited a few things in my day, I know how much work goes into collecting, collating, and editing down all this stuff. Just because you don't get paid for it (your blog content), doesn't mean it's not work. I am getting quite tired of people pilfering others' hard work and then not citing it. In a way it's flattering that you're the go-to guy for all things pop-culture ridiculousness, but would it really hurt them so much to say, "Thanks, Rich, for doing the dirty work for us! Go and check out fourfour for more pop-culture goodness!" This shit is getting so lame, Rich. I feel pissed off for you.

[Carly]

Actually, because what you were doing with the clips is a "transformative" use, your work is fair use and copyrightable. Mike would make a terrible law troll. Anywho, because the Insider used your work for essentially the same purpose as you did (celebrity gossip, humor, etc.) their use is not transformative. Their work is also commercial, not pure news reporting, and samples more from your work than is necessary for their purposes, so not fair use. There's also an argument to be made that their use devalues your work, and deprives you of the potential licensing fee you could have gotten for it. I knew law school would be good for something! Give 'em hell.

[Tone_def]

Carly's got it spot on. Additionally, the amount that someone takes isn't a hard and fast rule-- even 2 seconds of your video could be infringing if they were "the heart of the work".

Rich's transformative fair use of copyrighted material creates a new, original work of authorship, which he has exclusive rights to. The Insider lifting it in this way, with no transformation (as carly mentioned), constitutes flat-out infringement.

[Fiona]

Rich, if you stopped providing this content, I bet they would pay you to do it. Not that you should--if money was what you wanted I'm sure you'd already be making it. But yeah, they're just gonna keep ripping you off.

[DK]

So...did the Jay Leno and NPR things not establish that stealing is wrong, but that you are a good source to steal from...? What the hell?

[kate]

pretty soon leno will be sharing hilarious videos of his cat winston

[Mike]

"Social commentary"? is that what we're calling America's Next Top Model gifs now?

[wakeupmaggie]

Fair Use doesn't apply so much for digitized media content thanks to the DMCA and a number of questionable legal rulings ascribing ownership to such content. Copywrite infringement is rigorously applied to Internet content to the point that the doctrine of Fair Use is nearly rendered null and void online.

That said, I think it's great that you don't let these hijackings of your edited content remain unacknowledged. Isn't it wonderful to know that someone in television at these various shows pay attention to your blog and have your back?

[Robert]

Jeez. Where are these people coming from who rip you apart every time someone steals from you and why have they never heard of fair use and transformative work? Intellectual property rights laws, you trolls are doing them wrong.

[Asics Shoes]

There's also an argument to be made that their use devalues your work, and deprives you of the potential licensing fee you could have gotten for it. I knew law school would be good for something!

[Maria]

Maybe you need to put a watermark type thing in the corner of all your videos. Like a little animated Winston face or something. Then when you get ripped off, we can easily identify it as your source material and go batshit on the thief!

[Vimax]

Very nice, thanks so much... I'm hosting t-day, might need some napkins :-)

[nowirehangers]

Rich, you need to start putting a little fourfour image/logo thing on top of your videos so that bitches can steal them so easily. you've got the technical skills.

[A fan]

Dude, did you see the mention of this on nymaga's approval matrix?

http://nymag.com/arts/all/approvalmatrix/70043/

[A fan]

correction: nymag's approval matrix.

bottom left corner...lowbrow/despicable

[Katy]

I was just going to post that about the approval matrix - now you have truly arrived!

[Ci-Sun]

laughin

lol no thanks i would rather see her big back end go get a real job and do a hards days work

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[Teeth brilliant]

I saw this interview video clip on other website.But no doubt about that,it's video is on excellent subject.

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