ID this UI & Video Fair Use

November 19, 2007 4:25 PM

Two Totally Unrelated Questions About THIS VIDEO. Not the content of the video, but the usage. 1) What flash player/UI is that? Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I feel like I've been seeing it not just on Gawker sites, but on many others. Is that a standard player UI that is built into Flash for output to .flv files? 2) Obviously this is totally unauthorized usage. Would this be considered "fair use"? Can anyone recommend any articles on the current state of fair use and online video? Are companies like Gawker and Huffington Post (example) on firm legal ground with this kind of excerpting, which they then host in their own systems/servers, or are they just gambling that the web is so anarchic, that Mr. Big Media Company won't come a suin'?
posted by MaxVonCretin to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)

Fair use hasn't stopped anyone from suing before. I don't think it would in this case either. At a minimum they'll get a cease and desist if they don't have permission.
posted by TeatimeGrommit at 5:06 PM on November 19, 2007

IANAL. However, I am pretty confident that Gawker, Huffington & Co can use video and/or images under the Fair Use Doctrine, specifically as "a review or criticism for purposes of illustration or comment." Which is exactly what that example is IMHO.
posted by DarlingBri at 5:10 PM on November 19, 2007

It's "newvideoplayer()" function calling VideoModule.swf. Seems quite popular.
posted by meehawl at 5:27 PM on November 19, 2007 [1 favorite]

Best answer: the player is made by a guy named Jeron Wijering. it's very good and he licenses it very cheap (10-100 Euros), so a lot of people, including Youtube, use it.

he lets you skin it, but some people keep the default controls, which is what you see on gawker.
posted by drjimmy11 at 10:31 PM on November 19, 2007

Response by poster: Thanks all!
posted by MaxVonCretin at 7:32 AM on November 20, 2007