Free video
Encyclopedia
Free video refers to video
content that is free to use for any purpose, or licensed under a free and open license
to such an effect, at least for distribution, and at most for modification and commercial usage. This can also apply to graphical animation
s.
), not to price
- a video's entire content must be previously licensed under a free content license. A video is considered legally unfree if any portion of the video was previously licensed under a proprietary license that restricts usage and prevents derivations and commercial usage.
Thus, a video cannot be considered free if it includes snippets or whole copies of any text, image, video or audio that has been previously licensed under a proprietary, unfree license. The legal concept of fair use
of a third party's music or other content in one's own video work may protect against Digital Millennium Copyright Act
takedowns. However, in the 2008 court case Lenz v. Universal Music Group Inc., Universal Music Group
argued that fair use did not have to be considered before issuing a take-down. The case focuses on the usage of a song licensed by Universal that was used in a YouTube
video of a dancing toddler.
and other, non-media-type-specific free content licenses, or within the public domain
as the video's copyright has already expired.
such as Theora
for video and Ogg Vorbis for audio (particularly in the 2008 debate on whether to include the two within the WHATWG draft for HTML5 on multimedia), the latter argument is related more to the advocacy of free software
.
However, it is arguable that the free software movement stands to gain from the licensing of video and audio in a freely-usable format under a free content license.
Video
Video is the technology of electronically capturing, recording, processing, storing, transmitting, and reconstructing a sequence of still images representing scenes in motion.- History :...
content that is free to use for any purpose, or licensed under a free and open license
Copyleft
Copyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...
to such an effect, at least for distribution, and at most for modification and commercial usage. This can also apply to graphical animation
Animation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
s.
Free video and included media
To be a free video - referring to freedom (as in free softwareFree software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
), not to price
Price
-Definition:In ordinary usage, price is the quantity of payment or compensation given by one party to another in return for goods or services.In modern economies, prices are generally expressed in units of some form of currency...
- a video's entire content must be previously licensed under a free content license. A video is considered legally unfree if any portion of the video was previously licensed under a proprietary license that restricts usage and prevents derivations and commercial usage.
Thus, a video cannot be considered free if it includes snippets or whole copies of any text, image, video or audio that has been previously licensed under a proprietary, unfree license. The legal concept of fair use
Fair use
Fair use is a limitation and exception to the exclusive right granted by copyright law to the author of a creative work. In United States copyright law, fair use is a doctrine that permits limited use of copyrighted material without acquiring permission from the rights holders...
of a third party's music or other content in one's own video work may protect against Digital Millennium Copyright Act
Digital Millennium Copyright Act
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act is a United States copyright law that implements two 1996 treaties of the World Intellectual Property Organization . It criminalizes production and dissemination of technology, devices, or services intended to circumvent measures that control access to...
takedowns. However, in the 2008 court case Lenz v. Universal Music Group Inc., Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group is an American music group, the largest of the "big four" record companies by its commanding market share and its multitude of global operations...
argued that fair use did not have to be considered before issuing a take-down. The case focuses on the usage of a song licensed by Universal that was used in a YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video of a dancing toddler.
Free video licenses
At the moment, there are no known free content licenses that are specifically designed for video content. Instead, most known free video content is under a Creative Commons licenseCreative Commons licenses
Creative Commons licenses are several copyright licenses that allow the distribution of copyrighted works. The licenses differ by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002 by Creative Commons, a U.S...
and other, non-media-type-specific free content licenses, or within the public domain
Public domain
Works are in the public domain if the intellectual property rights have expired, if the intellectual property rights are forfeited, or if they are not covered by intellectual property rights at all...
as the video's copyright has already expired.
Free video formats
While the discussion on free video is related to an extent to the advocacy for freely-licensed data compression technologiesOpen source codecs and containers
This is a listing of open-source implementations of media formats—usually called codecs. Many of the codecs listed implement media formats that are restricted by patents and are henceforth not open formats. For example, x264 is a widely used open source implementation of the heavily patent...
such as Theora
Theora
Theora is a free lossy video compression format. It is developed by the Xiph.Org Foundation and distributed without licensing fees alongside their other free and open media projects, including the Vorbis audio format and the Ogg container....
for video and Ogg Vorbis for audio (particularly in the 2008 debate on whether to include the two within the WHATWG draft for HTML5 on multimedia), the latter argument is related more to the advocacy of free software
Free software
Free software, software libre or libre software is software that can be used, studied, and modified without restriction, and which can be copied and redistributed in modified or unmodified form either without restriction, or with restrictions that only ensure that further recipients can also do...
.
However, it is arguable that the free software movement stands to gain from the licensing of video and audio in a freely-usable format under a free content license.