Legal Question in Business Law in California

Re: Business: Video sharing on the web

Look to see the fate of other upload sites sued by the recording industry; check their defense costs and bankruptcies caused by allowing commerical copywrited material to be pirated. All of them had 'policies' in place. The courts didn't give much weight to them.

Therefore, make sure you don't allow such use, and have clear non-piracy provisions. Feel free to contact me if serious about reviewing and upgrading your language and setup.

Re: Business: Video sharing on the web

This is an area of the law that is in "active ferment" at present, with many legal scholars studying the current state of the law and whether it needs strengthening or relaxation, and several major suits working their way through the state and federal courts, mainly federal.

Look for both new appellate decisions and new legislation in the near future.

I think it's a pretty risky business at best, and the higher your profile and the more successful you are, the more lawsuits will land on your doorstep. If the website you're speaking of is only an adjunct to an otherwise successful and profitable business with significant assets, it probably risks too much to invite others to upload to the site.

If you nevertheless decide to go ahead, get an intellectual-property lawyer on retainer and have him/her monitor the cases now in the courts to see which direction the trend of decisions (and legislation) will be going.