PC Recording Game Play for YouTube Channel Question

Plato314

Plato314

New member
So, I'm new to recording game play, so if anyone can answer me this, that'd be great.

Am I 'legally' within my rights to record my game play, and upload to my YouTube Channel? Are there 'copyright laws' being broken here? If so, is there anyone from 7 Days To Die, I can contact and 'Ask for Permission'.

Like, there are A LOT of YouTube Channels out there, so I don't see why I couldn't? Only if I begin to 'monetize' off their product, or early sneak peeks, etc? I really have no idea lol

If anyone can help me in this area, that'd be great.

 
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Right, and there's so many channels out there, I think only if you're making like a massive amount of money, would YouTube or any company/publisher, really be willing to take Legal Action.

Otherwise it's basically just, for creative purposes and 'fair use', to legally put it. Plus, it actually supports and advertises the games anyways, right? So unless you claim it as your own, I think it's fair game hehe

 
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Plato314 said:
Am I 'legally' within my rights to record my game play, and upload to my YouTube Channel? Are there 'copyright laws' being broken here? If so, is there anyone from 7 Days To Die, I can contact and 'Ask for Permission'.
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In general, unless the game publisher has explicitly given you permission, the answer is (in I would wager many/most) jurisdictions:

1) Yes, you are legally allowed to record (for own use).

2) Yes you are allowed to upload to anywhere (for own use).

3) No, you're NOT allowed to give OTHERS access to the footage. Which makes YouTube pointless if you just keep it private. But you can use it as a video storage site just like dropbox. As soon as you share the video content, you're distributing it which normally is license violation and often a crime.

4) Yes you normally violate a bunch of copyright laws, and likely your terms of use not only for the game, but YouTube as well which prohibits sharing copyrighted material.

That said, those don't really help you, as in MOST (not all!) cases Game Publishers are very happy when people play, record, and share their gameplay. Some have been known to make explicit licenses for it available (on their website). Most simply leave it unsaid in order to not open up the legal box of a poorly worded license, leaving open in the future to making one should there be a need. Since more views means more sales (normally) it's a win win. However, mutual benefit doesn't make it legal as such. I know at least one Early Access game I have, that I can not cover as the publisher specifically disallows it under penalty, so I simply don't record or play it until they relax their use license.

For 7 Days to Die content, TFP have been very supportive, and you'll also see mods, Roland especially, who've had threads linking to guides and footage, their twitter account have pushed out info on videos, streams etc, to support the community.

You often hear people speak about fair use, and such. However most videos on youtube using copyrighted material would never pass the criteria for fair use. It's a huge topic of its own, interesting to read for those who are so inclined, but more important is really "will I get into trouble for it?" is sometimes more useful. Unless you get a copyright strike, nothing is likely to ever happen :) And copyright strikes can happen regardless of whether you have a license or not, whether it's copyrighted or not, so has little connection to the legality. I would wager the risk of getting legally in trouble (ie, sued) by a publisher for making a video on YouTube is so small that it's unlikely to be an item to spend much time on :)

And for the record, I make YouTube videos of 7 Days to Die, and I stream it, and I love it!

https://youtube.com/vedui42 :)

 
For legal advice; you're not looking for legal advice on a forum, and no-one is able to give you such here.

For practical purposes, yeah, you'll be absolutely fine with making money out of game videos. Some game companies disagree, and try to enforce their views upon you in whatever way they can; most won't.

For copyright.. that's a whole mess in itself, and there's more misguided opinions out there than truths. If you ever see a video stating "I don't own any of the material, no infringement intended", from a legal point of view that's essentially just an admission of "I took someone else's thingies intentionally". It won't relieve you from anything, unless the rights holder chooses to show pity for you for it. (Nor is it an infringement in itself, of course, that would remain to be determined based on what you've done with the material)

The basic idea is/was/should be, "you can't compete with someone using their own material", as in, you can't just copy someone's book and sell it to the same general audience. In that sense, there is no competition between a video game and a video of the game - they're different markets. You're not reducing sales or taking money from TFP by showing a video of you playing their game.

Of course, this isn't how private platforms/companies enforce things. Whether it's by legal requirements or their own decision, they can do "what they want", at least until someone takes them to court... Nor is it how the laws actually function, there's all kinds of additional clauses like "likeness" and whatnot depending on your and their location. And the whole thing is a feature creep nightmare overall ... :)

Useful? No.. Much like the current system... :)

 
There’s no need to speculate and theorize over this when TFP have said exactly what’s allowed, in an official legal agreement you made with them.

IV. VIDEO MONETIZATION AND AD REVENUEAnyone who has purchased or has received a gift or press release copy of the game has permission or rights to receive ad money or to monetize their video work on Youtube, TwitchTV or other video channels and mediums.
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But everyone already knew that because they read the EULA before purchasing the game... riiiiiiight?

 
Crater Creator said:
There’s no need to speculate and theorize over this when TFP have said exactly what’s allowed, in an official legal agreement you made with them.
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Weeelll... that quote only states that I have the right to monetize my own video work; that doesn't exactly establish a specific right to use footage of the game as part of "my work". (Not that I'd want to argue that in court, but at least that snippet seems prone to other interpretations ... :) )

 
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