The Internet gives amateur artists a place to publish their videos at a relatively low cost and with little technical know-how. With the promise of becoming an Internet sensation or going viral with the next video, it is no wonder that people make rash decisions when it comes to the content they use to make their videos. This is why YouTube is rife with videos that violate copyright laws. It is important to keep in mind that just because you see someone else using content in a YouTube video does not mean it is legal. Fair use consists of:
Many of the viral videos you see on YouTube are in violation of copyright. Some artists may choose to pursue copyright violations more aggresively than others as can be seen in these two different cases:
Harvard professor Lawrence Lessig is a strong advocate of remix culture and calls for a change in the copyright law to catch-up to the revolution in legitimate user generated content.