Forums / Discussion / Serious Debate

(I'm gonna be hated for this, aren't I?)

There's a lot of ongoing debate and drama surrounding copyright on the internet. Two famous examples include but are not limited to:
-YouTube and "Matched Third Party content"
-nonprofit fanworks receiving DMCA takedown notices(This does not only apply to Pokemon Uranium or Another Metroid 2 Remake nor am I saying it does.)

Of course there's a lot of heat in these kinds of debates. There's the side that strongly believes that the public is in the wrong for being flat out "plagiarists" and unable to create their own content, while the other side strongly believes that the corporations are in the wrong for using their power to take down anything they want, even if it doesn't cut into their profits.

If things were to change, would you favor the public, the corporations, or both?

When it comes to Youtube takedowns – Innocent until proven guilty, proven guilty before acted against.

I would favor the public. Currently, corporations are slowly starting to outlive their usefulness. Currently, the main problem is trying to make CC-licensed and public domain licensed works more popular than copyrighted content.

I would not allow companies to file more then 1 strike against 1 channel at a time if I were in charge of youtube's copyright division, because a person can file multiple strikes at once and be given lots of revenue without needing to prove anything.

For the internet in general, I wouldn't change the law, I'd just make sure it was actually enforced. So many people don't enforce copyright law when it comes to stuff like scanlations or translated episodes of foreign media, but then turn around and completely ignore fair use when it comes to stuff like 1 second samples from a track.

When studios who don't even own music or movies can file suits against people, that's when you know things have gone too far. I'd start with just enforcing fair use, and then worry about the other stuff later.

I would side with the fanwork and video makers on this, and request that those wanting to file copyright strikes supply proof that the content in question infringes on the copyright, possibly add other measures to make petty take downs of non-profit fanwork as tedious and unprofitable as possible

Likewise, I would also make it clear that Fanwork would qualify as fair use and as such would not pose a risk to copyright retention (primary reason why these takedowns are a thing)

on a related note. I want to know if how Japan's Dojinshi culture, the Comic market (aka Comiket), and their copyright laws relate to this, and if the latter is a technical Black Market

1) Codify fair use so it isn't an affirmative defense and isn't a gray zone filled with mystery and internet lawyers arguing

2) Enforce punishments for false DMCA flaggings

3) Relax trademark generalization and dilution rules that cause companies to strictly enforce IP protection

4) Reduce copyright lifespan. 70 years after the death of the author, or 120 years after creation for a corporation is way too long.