The other day a friend of mine sent me a link to YouTube to see a part of a performance of Ricky Gervaise. He said it was hilarious and I had to see it.Thing is, I’m 99% sure the video posted was infringing. I wanted to see it, I wanted to share in the laughter, but if I clicked on that video and watched it, I’d be a hypocrite.
But no one would know. I live alone except for my cat and Benito wouldn’t tell. And my friend is ignorant about these matters so he really wouldn’t get it (trust me, I’ve tried to teach him).
Instead of watching the video on YouTube, I fired up HBOGO and, since I am a paying subscriber to HBO, accessed the legitimate video via that service. It was hilarious, he was right.
More importantly, though, I did the right thing. It took more time and effort, but if I’m not willing to take the, what, maybe 3 minutes it took to launch, log in, and find that show, then I shouldn’t be doing what I’m doing.
I do this whenever someone sends me a YouTube link now. If it is not clearly an approved video (posted by the artist or the studio or music company, etc.) I do not watch it. I either find the legitimate source or I simply “miss out.”
It is my way of supporting the IP rights of others.
I suggest that if you make your living off IP, you need to do the same.
Couldn’t agree more with you Leslie. To me, it’s called self-respect.
Lesile, I’m with you on that.
After reading your post for the last couple of months, you have opened my eyes to a lot of things that I was not aware of in the past. From copyrights to ethics and back, I have learned and now more aware of things. I appreciate your posts and thoughts.
I’m still have a lot to learn but I will get better.
Thank you very much.