JavaScript is off. Please enable to view full site.

Victim recalls 20 times Vietnam’s state TV breached copyrights on his drone videos

Victim recalls 20 times Vietnam’s state TV breached copyrights on his drone videos

Thursday, March 03, 2016, 10:46 GMT+7

The drone camera enthusiast behind the termination of the Vietnamese state television’s YouTube channel has said he demands nothing other than an apology from the broadcaster for copyright violations, but even such a simple request seems unlikely to be met.

Vietnam Television, or VTV, had its channel with 95,000 subscribers and some 10,000 videos suspended by YouTube on Sunday, after repeated complaints about copyright infringement by Bui Minh Tuan.

Tuan, hailing from the central province of Quang Tri, is a diehard fan of drone cameras who has his own YouTube channel to showcase aerial videos capturing beautiful landscapes across Vietnam.

The clips are posted on Tuan’s Yamaha Trung Ta channel, all embedded with his logo, copyright claim and detailed contact information.

Despite this, VTV has repeatedly used his footage without permission or full credit for more than a year, the businessman told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Wednesday.

“My telephone number is in every video but no one from VTV has ever contacted me to ask for my permission to use my footage,” he said.

Tuan added he had no choice but to report the case to YouTube, which eventually decided to terminate the VTV channel on Sunday.

“A man introducing himself as a member of the supervisory board at VTV phoned me on Wednesday and promised to meet me in Quang Tri to discuss this matter this weekend,” he said.

20 infringements

Tuan has signed a contract with YouTube to run his Yamaha Trung Ta channel.

According to the agreement, he is granted a Content ID as a YouTube partner, and has the copyrights on his videos protected worldwide.

The drone camera lover first found that his videos had been used without permission by VTV in March 2015, after which he phoned the broadcaster to complain and eventually received an apology.

Tuan accepted the apology, only to see VTV repeat the copyright infringement a month later.

He immediately contacted VTV, and again was given another apology. However, Tuan decided that it was time to keep YouTube informed of the issue.

YouTube responded by saying that it had warned VTV about the infringement and banned it from uploading videos longer than 15 minutes on its channel as a penalty.

Tuan then asked YouTube to lift the warning action, hoping that VTV would behave more properly.

A drone video on Tuan's Yamaha Trung Ta channel

However, in September 2015, the national broadcaster ‘stole’ his footage again, telling him later that “a VTV computer was broken so it could not give [me] credit for the footage,” Tuan said.

As such an explanation was unacceptable to him, Tuan reported it to YouTube for the second time.

“But nothing changed as they continued to use my videos without my consent and credit,” he said.

Tuan added he had recorded evidence for nearly 20 times VTV illegally used his footage, which led to the third complaint on February 29.

As per YouTube regulations, a channel that receives three verified complaints will be shut down.

“YouTube officially terminated the VTV channel after its copyright infringement was proved,” Tuan said.

Tuan said besides reporting to YouTube, he also lodged a complaint, plus all relevant proof and evidence, to the copyright agency under the Ministry of Information and Communications.

“I only need an official and open apology from VTV,” he said. “VTV needs to show that they know how to respect copyrights.”

Nguyen Le Tan, deputy head of the editorial board of cable TV channel VTC10, said VTV may lose its YouTube channel forever.

“As per YouTube regulations, within seven days from the time of termination, if VTV manages to persuade Tuan to withdraw his complaint, it can have the channel reactivated,” he told Tuoi Tre.

“If Tuan refuses to do so, the VTV channel will be removed for good from YouTube.”

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

TUOI TRE NEWS

More

Read more

;

Photos

VIDEOS

‘Taste of Australia’ gala dinner held in Ho Chi Minh City after 2-year hiatus

Taste of Australia Gala Reception has returned to the Park Hyatt Hotel in Ho Chi Minh City's District 1 after a two-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic

Vietnamese woman gives unconditional love to hundreds of adopted children

Despite her own immense hardship, she has taken in and cared for hundreds of orphans over the past three decades.

Vietnam’s Mekong Delta celebrates spring with ‘hat boi’ performances

The art form is so popular that it attracts people from all ages in the Mekong Delta

Vietnamese youngster travels back in time with clay miniatures

Each work is a scene caught by Dung and kept in his memories through his journeys across Vietnam

Latest news