Posting a competitors Youtube video on our site- legal?

One of our competitors has put together a really good how-to regarding one of the products we offer. This video is posted on youtube.

Would it be legal for us to embed this video via youtube into our website?

My understanding would be that when a user uploads to youtube they’re releasing all copyright while the video is active on youtube. Youtube’s copyright allows users to embed videos on their site. Therefore, my assumption would be it’s legal for us to embed this on our website.

Am I right or wrong?

Anything that’s publicly viewable on YouTube can be embedded in your own site. That’s how it works. If your competitors don’t like it, their only option is to remove the video from YouTube. :slight_smile:

It might depend on which country you are in. To be on the safe side I would consult a qualified lawyer to be sure, just in case there is something in the “fine print” somewhere which would make it illegal in your particular circumstances.

If you get dragged to court over this for some reason, I doubt very much a defence of so-and-so on SP, or any other website, told me it was ok to do it will carry much credibility or weight.

Just some food for thought :slight_smile:

I believe you can disable embedding for your own videos within youtube, so that would put a stop to it straight away.

Anyway, regardless of legality, I think it’s a bad idea for you to do this. Seriously, what do you think your potential customers will think when they see you embedding videos from your competitors? At best, they’ll assume your competitor is the ‘go to’ guy, while you are just some affiliate.

Why not make your own video?

Is it a competitor or added value reseller? They like what you are doing, you like what they are doing. Would skip the competitor and see if the two of you can gain sales by working together.

On another note, even though it was a Positive example, a friend was really upset when a person a they did NOT like posted thevideo on their site. Resulted in bad press, and not all bad press is good press.