Audio and video drains: interviews with authors on the protection of their work
If at high volume you can carefully listen to the sound on the video from Microsoft, then from 0:23 to 0:25 you will hear the Audiojungle voice watermark on the audio track. Such "watermarks" use audio banks to protect against unauthorized use of tracks.
I talked with composer Tigran Papazyan and video designer Alexey Shamrayev to find out what methods they use to protect the copyright of their works.
Watermarks are actively used by photographers and photo banks to protect images before they are purchased. Photographers place their contact details, and photobanks - the logo and image of the image, as in the photo below, so that no one can download and use the work downloaded to the service for free. After payment of the subscription or purchase of a specific photo you get the right to download it without a watermark and use within the framework of the executed agreement.
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The same watermarks do not allow the use of audio tracks. To find out how composers working with audio drains defend the rights to their works, I contacted one of the top authors at Audiojungle , Tigran Papazian. Through the audio stock, he made about 11 thousand sales at an average cost of $ 19 per sample. Tigran also works in the film industry, where his music is used for movie trailers. Among the latter are “The Collector” with Konstantin Khabensky and “Two in the Universe” with Jeremy Irons.
What is the main way to protect audio files from unauthorized use by third-party companies before purchasing through a service?
Watermark - this is the cheapest way to protect a lot of music for sale through audio rigs.
How can a composer defend his material so that the evidence is accepted in court if something is copied to the samples?
Definitely source. They need to be stored on your cloud or on your computer.
What to do if they are stolen, how to prove authorship in court?
If only you have the source code, this is a huge advantage when it comes to evidence of authorship. But if not, then you can use what the author has only: the ability to repeat their work. There is an example from world practice, it is told about it in the film “Big Eyes”, shot from a book written by the main character - Margaret Keane. This American artist became famous for portraits of women and children with big eyes, and in the 1960s her works were sold under the name of her husband, Walter Keane. He wanted to take over all the laurels, and it came to court.
And the judge said - draw a portrait of the child. The husband refused, and the artist did it - and won the case. This can happen if the source is in several people who call themselves authors.
Is it possible to embed a digital signature in audio tracks?
Yes, but I do not do it. You can insert an image into the recording spectrum. Many sellers of collections of samples (sample packs) register their sites there. (An example of embedding data in audio files is described on Habrahabr. - approx. Ed.)
I will not speak for songwriters or arrangements, as I myself have never gone deep into defending the rights of my songs. Not that it wasn’t interesting to me, but when I published songs on labels, the rights were automatically registered for me as the author.
In the case of music, can the way from the literature work - sending yourself notes by mail?
There is an option to send yourself a song by email as soon as you write it. Send a record - and this will be proof of your authorship, since no one will have any other proof with a date earlier than this letter. Well, if only someone does not return by time machine to Ancient Egypt and starts writing scores of your song on papyrus.
Trailer for the film "Two in the universe." Music of Tigran Papazyan
Video designer Alexey Shamraev creates video clips that he sells through video boards. His videos are being bought, including by large companies. For example, in early 2016, Sony bought its video and blocked it on YouTube . The clip of Real Love Story served as the basis for the clip of singer Pedro Lima, but Alexey got out of the situation as the winner - the clip was closed , the author’s videos were unblocked. But now the issue has not yet been fully resolved, but a lawyer in America has already been found, and in the near future, Alexei plans to close it. Now Alexey is preparing for a trial against a Russian company, which broadcasts on one Russian TV channel, we will report the details as they become available.
Alexey, what do you think, why in the video in the official Microsoft channel could watermark be heard?
You can download audio previews from Audiojungle and work with it in a video editing program, then show the result to the customer and, if everything suits him, buy the track. Sometimes experts work with video, add an audio track with watermark and later forget to replace it, although they bought the original. When working with the track, you can forget about the watermark, it will “get bogged down”, and it is simply ceased to be heard. Perhaps in the case of the roller for Microsoft, it was so.
You are doing the video. What protection methods are used for video on drains?
The same watermark placed on top of the video clip. The video has EXIF ​​- I can assume that you can insert information there. But a watermark is easier and faster. Moreover, in any case, the movie can be bought, and then declare that the author is not you. I came across this.
How can you prove in court that you are the author of the video clip? Did the trial get the case?
So far I have not had legal proceedings, but I’m about to face something like this. First of all, there is a date when your video appeared on the Internet - that is, the time when you first uploaded it. On other resources the same date will not be - the video will appear there later. Secondly, as a rule, the video is edited before loading it onto the drain, since frames are cut off at the beginning or at the end, all unnecessary is removed and the finished scene is obtained. The main thing is not to delete the original, this is the most direct proof that you are the author, since no one else can have this more than the original.
Also, if there is a place in the frames from your city, and someone says that this is his video, and he himself lives where it is not clear, you can ask to make a video again. He will not be able - and you will be able, since you know these places exactly.
And if the original was stolen?
There you should consult with lawyers and find out what arguments you can still provide to the court. But if the stolen original is from another person, and he says that the video is his, then it will be difficult to prove something here.
In the literature, the authors use this method: they send their own works by state mail to evidence. We discussed a similar method with your audio colleague Tigran Papazian - just sending audio files to your email. Can I do this with video?
An interesting way, by the way. But in the case of the video there is a small problem - the file size. Here you need to either use the cloud storage and send the link, or render the source video file in any format with a codec to get a small file weight.
And ordinary mail? Should I send a disc or other medium?
Video stacker now generates a huge amount of content every day, so it is not advisable to engage in sending files in this way. It is easier to simply keep the originals on your disk, on the cloud, and it is better to store project files for the video or audio program in which you work.
In the case of photo, audio and video drains, the most popular method of protection is the easiest and cheapest - the authors protect the work with "watermarks". Sometimes this does not help, and their work can be used without coordination and payment. In the case of photos on Shutterstock, for example, it’s not difficult to search for a photo that someone has bought by searching Google for a picture and then use it for your website or an offline store signboard. In other cases, unscrupulous buyers may claim their rights to other people's work, as Sony did. When it comes to court, the main means of protection is the source code.
I talked with composer Tigran Papazyan and video designer Alexey Shamrayev to find out what methods they use to protect the copyright of their works.
Watermarks are actively used by photographers and photo banks to protect images before they are purchased. Photographers place their contact details, and photobanks - the logo and image of the image, as in the photo below, so that no one can download and use the work downloaded to the service for free. After payment of the subscription or purchase of a specific photo you get the right to download it without a watermark and use within the framework of the executed agreement.
')
The same watermarks do not allow the use of audio tracks. To find out how composers working with audio drains defend the rights to their works, I contacted one of the top authors at Audiojungle , Tigran Papazian. Through the audio stock, he made about 11 thousand sales at an average cost of $ 19 per sample. Tigran also works in the film industry, where his music is used for movie trailers. Among the latter are “The Collector” with Konstantin Khabensky and “Two in the Universe” with Jeremy Irons.
What is the main way to protect audio files from unauthorized use by third-party companies before purchasing through a service?
Watermark - this is the cheapest way to protect a lot of music for sale through audio rigs.
How can a composer defend his material so that the evidence is accepted in court if something is copied to the samples?
Definitely source. They need to be stored on your cloud or on your computer.
What to do if they are stolen, how to prove authorship in court?
If only you have the source code, this is a huge advantage when it comes to evidence of authorship. But if not, then you can use what the author has only: the ability to repeat their work. There is an example from world practice, it is told about it in the film “Big Eyes”, shot from a book written by the main character - Margaret Keane. This American artist became famous for portraits of women and children with big eyes, and in the 1960s her works were sold under the name of her husband, Walter Keane. He wanted to take over all the laurels, and it came to court.
And the judge said - draw a portrait of the child. The husband refused, and the artist did it - and won the case. This can happen if the source is in several people who call themselves authors.
Is it possible to embed a digital signature in audio tracks?
Yes, but I do not do it. You can insert an image into the recording spectrum. Many sellers of collections of samples (sample packs) register their sites there. (An example of embedding data in audio files is described on Habrahabr. - approx. Ed.)
I will not speak for songwriters or arrangements, as I myself have never gone deep into defending the rights of my songs. Not that it wasn’t interesting to me, but when I published songs on labels, the rights were automatically registered for me as the author.
In the case of music, can the way from the literature work - sending yourself notes by mail?
There is an option to send yourself a song by email as soon as you write it. Send a record - and this will be proof of your authorship, since no one will have any other proof with a date earlier than this letter. Well, if only someone does not return by time machine to Ancient Egypt and starts writing scores of your song on papyrus.
Trailer for the film "Two in the universe." Music of Tigran Papazyan
Video designer Alexey Shamraev creates video clips that he sells through video boards. His videos are being bought, including by large companies. For example, in early 2016, Sony bought its video and blocked it on YouTube . The clip of Real Love Story served as the basis for the clip of singer Pedro Lima, but Alexey got out of the situation as the winner - the clip was closed , the author’s videos were unblocked. But now the issue has not yet been fully resolved, but a lawyer in America has already been found, and in the near future, Alexei plans to close it. Now Alexey is preparing for a trial against a Russian company, which broadcasts on one Russian TV channel, we will report the details as they become available.
Alexey, what do you think, why in the video in the official Microsoft channel could watermark be heard?
You can download audio previews from Audiojungle and work with it in a video editing program, then show the result to the customer and, if everything suits him, buy the track. Sometimes experts work with video, add an audio track with watermark and later forget to replace it, although they bought the original. When working with the track, you can forget about the watermark, it will “get bogged down”, and it is simply ceased to be heard. Perhaps in the case of the roller for Microsoft, it was so.
You are doing the video. What protection methods are used for video on drains?
The same watermark placed on top of the video clip. The video has EXIF ​​- I can assume that you can insert information there. But a watermark is easier and faster. Moreover, in any case, the movie can be bought, and then declare that the author is not you. I came across this.
How can you prove in court that you are the author of the video clip? Did the trial get the case?
So far I have not had legal proceedings, but I’m about to face something like this. First of all, there is a date when your video appeared on the Internet - that is, the time when you first uploaded it. On other resources the same date will not be - the video will appear there later. Secondly, as a rule, the video is edited before loading it onto the drain, since frames are cut off at the beginning or at the end, all unnecessary is removed and the finished scene is obtained. The main thing is not to delete the original, this is the most direct proof that you are the author, since no one else can have this more than the original.
Also, if there is a place in the frames from your city, and someone says that this is his video, and he himself lives where it is not clear, you can ask to make a video again. He will not be able - and you will be able, since you know these places exactly.
And if the original was stolen?
There you should consult with lawyers and find out what arguments you can still provide to the court. But if the stolen original is from another person, and he says that the video is his, then it will be difficult to prove something here.
In the literature, the authors use this method: they send their own works by state mail to evidence. We discussed a similar method with your audio colleague Tigran Papazian - just sending audio files to your email. Can I do this with video?
An interesting way, by the way. But in the case of the video there is a small problem - the file size. Here you need to either use the cloud storage and send the link, or render the source video file in any format with a codec to get a small file weight.
And ordinary mail? Should I send a disc or other medium?
Video stacker now generates a huge amount of content every day, so it is not advisable to engage in sending files in this way. It is easier to simply keep the originals on your disk, on the cloud, and it is better to store project files for the video or audio program in which you work.
In the case of photo, audio and video drains, the most popular method of protection is the easiest and cheapest - the authors protect the work with "watermarks". Sometimes this does not help, and their work can be used without coordination and payment. In the case of photos on Shutterstock, for example, it’s not difficult to search for a photo that someone has bought by searching Google for a picture and then use it for your website or an offline store signboard. In other cases, unscrupulous buyers may claim their rights to other people's work, as Sony did. When it comes to court, the main means of protection is the source code.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/395823/
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