Discussion about usage of elements motion graphics videos on youtube

Envato Authors Elements Authors
1

Hi, I’m a motion graphics author, and I’ve been uploading mostly looping motion graphics videos lately.
I would like to discuss, an issue that will significantly affect the sales of motion graphics authors in the future.
I have contacted author support regarding this problem, but only receive macro replies to how to send DMCA notices.
So I decided to have this discussion on the forum.

Is this a fair use? or is it a redistribution of videos?

As everyone knows, YouTube is a global platform and its influence is enormous.
Recently, I found many channels on YouTube that uploaded elements videos.
The problem was that channels upload videos in its entirety without any editing.
Most of those channels were content sharing the background of music or meditation.

They just edited the looping videos to make them long.
(There are many cases of simple color change and reverse playback)
subscribers can download videos uploaded from YouTube channels, and they will not purchase our items.

I think these activities are some kind of redistribution of elements videos.
However, there is no clear guideline on this, which is confusing me and our customers.

When I contact them for copyright infringement, they claim that there is no problem because they purchased the item from elements.
I waste too much time persuading to make them to understand.

Anyway as a result, They just buy our items for a cent and upload to their YouTube channel.
I can be sure, this will negatively impact authors’ sales.

I’m sorry if there’s something I misunderstood.
Please share your thoughts about this issue.

And… I have two questions here.
● When a customer write their Youtube channel URL when purchasing a license, does Envato check the contents of the channel and review whether it is legit or not?
● Does Envato provide clear guides to customers on how to use “elements video items” on YouTube?

1 Like
2

Hello,
Do you know the Envato Elements licensing rules?
You can read them here: License Terms — Envato Elements
There is a sub-point: “You can’t re-sell, or re-distribute items” - and that should explain it all.
Submit a copyright removal request to Youtube and problem solved.

3

Thank you for your kind reply.
Yes, I know. but the problem is that customers don’t know that, so they keep uploading it to YouTube in the wrong way.
and I don’t think this is something the author has to explain to them.

Perhaps authors consider that customer’s upload activity to be “redistribution”.
But they don’t know what redistribution is, and they don’t seem interested.
they say, “Envato allowed me to upload to YouTube. What’s wrong?”

so If I report copyright infringement to them on YouTube,
They send me a counter notice and claim chagrin.
And the legal battle begins. as we know, this process is very cumbersome.

I think envato needs to be more clear on how to use elements videos on youtube.

4

do they have any confirmation for this? It’s against the license.
When purchasing Envato Elements subscription, they must know the license rules, and if not, they must bear the consequences of breaking it.

5

Yes, obviously this is a problem for customers who misunderstood the license rules and bought them.
However, I think the problem is that there are too many cases recently.
The point of my topic is that I want to determine the root cause of this happening.

Currently, the author has to solve all these problems, and it is getting harder and harder.
Now, isn’t it terrible to be shared not only on illegal sites, but also on YouTube?

6

… this also works in Envato and nobody does anything about it. Recently, a large number of After Effects templates and Motion Graphics have been appearing here, which are built exclusively on Freepik graphics, and yet their license does not allow it. And what? And nobody does anything about it. Not to mention authors who use other authors’ assets without permission.

7

Envato probably don’t do anything about it because I’d surprised if it’s actually against the license terms.

Yes, you can’t redistribute items, but unless there’s some option I’m not aware of, you can’t download videos on Youtube. Yes, there is a download button on the app, but that’s just stored within the app, you’re not downloading an actual video file to your desktop. And yes, there are websites and apps where you can download actual video files to your desktop from Youtube, but they’re not provided by, or endorsed by, Youtube.

So it’s not Youtube’s fault if people download the video, and it’s not the buyers fault. I mean if we’re saying putting items on Youtube is redistribution then surely any use is redistribution… DVD, Blu-ray just rip the disks, TV just record the broadcast, radio the same for audio etc etc. Are we saying that nothing can be used anywhere without it being classed as redistribution?

Sure, they were used in their entirety without any editing… but how does that change anything? While I agree that just uploading one full 30 seconds stock video, on its own with no edits, graphics over the top, or music or anything else, is a bit of a stretch to what’s acceptable (unless they add a link to where they can license the video on Envato - I wouldn’t mind that), surely it makes absolutely no difference to whether they’re following the ‘no redistribution rule’ whether it’s two different 30 second videos edited together with transitions, or 100 30 second videos edited together… or whether the video is only played for 20 seconds instead of 30?

I could be wrong, I’m no Elements license expert, but if you’re right and we take your issue to its logical conclusion… you’re saying that people can’t use Elements video content on Youtube at all (Unless it’s considerably altered by being heavily blurred, masked, with multiple layers, graphics on top etc etc). Or anywhere else where it might be possible for somebody to download the content… no matter whether that video content is edited with other content or only used for a portion of its full duration.

8

Let’s not go to extremes, people know exactly what they’re doing. There are links to the files below the videos. Youtube takes down such videos within a few hours of being reported.

9

As you said, There are so many ways to use video.
It’s hard to predict where customers will use their purchased videos, so it’s hard to set standard rules.
Maybe there are some parts that the copyright holder of the video needs to judge.

So I want to talk about videos uploaded to YouTube based on YouTube’s fair use rules.
YouTube’s said, you’re less likely to qualify for fair use if:

Your video merely copies.
You’re trying to monetize.
You’re using fictional copyrighted material.
You borrowed large amount of material.
The main focus in the copyrighted material.
Your use harms the copyright owner’s ability to profit.

It can be seen that at least two of their activities are always have those problems.

I absolutely abide by Envato exclusive contract, So I can guess which site my items are getting redistributed through.
for example, Some user uploaded my video on YouTube, and then someone else uploaded it to another stock site. so I removed it via DMCA.
This happens with increasing frequency, and to the harms of the author’s profit.
YouTube uploaders should at least try to prevent redistribution of the entire video through watermark editing or additional editing.

Anyway, there are so many customers who use it wrong way… more and more every day and that customers all say the same thing.
“I bought a license from elements!”

I don’t think it’s the author’s job to make the customer understand the license terms.

It is necessary to take measures such as opening a pop-up window for “How to use on YouTube” when a customer writes down the YouTube address in the project contents entered when purchasing a license.
Or, I don’t think it’s difficult to output a warning phrase like “YouTube has been experiencing a lot of copyright issues lately. Please be careful when using it.”
So it can be make sure they have no excuse for redistributing the video, whether intentionally or not.
I hope Envato will help prevent this problem from happening furthermore.

10

I don’t want to go to the extreme, but the situation is already going to the extreme. at least for me…
And i said again, customers who upload elements videos to their YouTube channel don’t even know the criteria for redistribution, and they don’t care.

I recently reported a user who uploaded 46 of my videos to YouTube for copyright infringement.
(He uploaded the entire video without editing, with “his own copyright” in the description)
When I send a copyright strike notice, the YouTube channel’s owner sends me a copyright counter-notice, showing me the license he purchased from elements.
In the YouTube copyright strike process, if the complainant receives a counter-notice, he or she must submit legal evidence.
I just want to delete my wrong-used videos from YouTube, but I have to go through this annoying process.
I’ll win, of course, but the point is that this is a waste of time.

So I decided to convince him.
I spent a lot of time waiting for him to understand me and delete the video.
After this case is over, he continues to contact me.
He said he didn’t understand envato’s license, and asked me questions for a long time by e-mail.

The problem is that the same cases happen several times a week.
Now, there is also a channel that has uploaded a 10-hour length video by collecting and compositing all the videos that I uploaded less than a week ago.
I left a warning comment, but he still doesn’t seem to be deleting the video, so maybe the same process is repeating.

Now I’m tired… I want to get out of this loop.

11

And if they upload the video in its entirety without editing, there is also the issue of YouTube Content ID.

12

All of that is unrelated, as it’s relating to contact that you don’t own the copyright to or don’t have a license to use.

Nothing wrong with the first one, the second one is a breach of copyright and you should absolutely send a DMCA.

Well there’s nothing in the license terms which says they have to. While it would be nice, posting content on Youtube that has been correctly licensed is not distributing the content and it’s not breaching the licensing terms.

Then they’re not doing anything wrong. That’s what they should be saying!

Understand what exactly, with regards to the licensing terms?

But how to use on Youtube would be how you want them to use on Youtube… it would be unrelated to, and even contradict, the current licensing terms, unless they’re changed at some point.

That would just confuse people. What copyright issues? I’ve just licensed this item so there aren’t copyright issues? Will I still have issues? What do I need to be careful about?

They’re not redistributing the video by placing it on Youtube.

13

If the youtube channel owner puts a link to download your items then it’s definitely a breach of the license.
If your videos are only used as backgrounds and people download them via something like youtube to mp4/mp3 then there’s not that much that we can do about it…

Keep in mind that everything that you put on EE goes straight to illegal sites in a matter of minutes, there’s no way you can keep track of all of your licenses, it’s a lost war and a waste of time.

14

Are you 100% sure?

What about when their subscription period ends? I understand that they need to remove the video?

15

I’m sorry if my explanation wasn’t enough, but I keep talking about “uploading only the entire video without any editing”. Can’t this be called a redistribution?

16

I guess that when subscription ends they just can’t download items, but all the projects they already made are covered for life.
That’s what they say in the licensing terms page

"Future proof licensing, even if you unsubscribe

If you unsubscribe, you can no longer use items from Envato Elements. However, any existing uses that you registered are still covered. Now that’s peace of mind! "

17

Let’s talk one more example.
An elements customer creates a “free background” channel.
This channel uploads the background videos of the Envato elements without any editing, just as it.
and the owner of the channel earning money from youtube with the only footage background without his own original content.
Users who access this channel can own items that are perfectly identical to the original video sold in the market through download in their own way.

Is this really a harmless activity for all authors?

18

Yes, we can find many elements items on illegal sharing sites. And now also on YouTube…

19

I’m way more concerned when I see my videos on TV without a broadcasting license :smiling_face_with_tear:

It would be an easy fix that would cover all the losses coming from these weird online activities.

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