According to data by Searchmetrics, website that publish copyrighted material see their site suffer a 98 per cent collapse on SEO visibility.
Recently, Google undated its search filters to penalise websites who infringe copyright, forcing them to the bottom of its search results. Those worst affected are those who display links or directly host copyright protected music, TV shows and films.
However, last week, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled that embedding a copyrighted video onto your website is not copyright infringement – even if the source was uploaded without permission.
The court argued that embedding a file or video is not breach of creator’s copyrights under European Law, as long as it is not altered or communicated to a new audience– if the video was already on YouTube, then it can’t be seen as a new communication.
So does copyright matter on the Internet?
While it is easy to steal on the web, that does not make it legal. Even online, copyright laws are enforced and you must remember people’s intellectual property rights or you could put yourself in financial trouble.
If you require any help with copyright, please get in touch with us by calling 01522 801111.
At LOVEN, we can provide you with:
- Advice on copyright infringement
- Advice on fair dealing provisions
- Drafting suitable Copyright notices
- Advice on obtaining permission from copyright owners
