10-02-2013, 07:41 PM
Regarding the questions of these games on YouTube violating copyright laws, I'll offer some of what I know. I am not a lawyer. I have no practical work experience in copyright laws. I have not stayed in a Holiday Inn Express lately. I am just a guy who likes to watch old football games and I have amassed a sizeable personal collection of old game videos. What knowledge I have is that of a hobbyist.Â
I agree most if not all of the uploads of TV broadcast are violating copyright laws. Some of linked uploads of non broadcast videos were likely uploaded by the copyright holder or with his permission. Others claiming to upload under the "Fair Use" likely have a misunderstanding of "Fair Use".
Some copyright owners of broadcast videos are diligent about having YouTube remove their videos. Others seem to periodically scan for their videos and have them removed. I think they do it just to show they give some effort to protect their copyrights. Some probably don't care or actually like their videos uploaded so they don't have to deal with people like me wanting copies of old games.
Look at it this way. Is there really much of a market for old football game videos? Try to find more than a handful of games from 3 or more years ago available on commercial DVDs. The copyright holders would not have enough buyers to make it profitable to offer such DVDs.Â
A few on demand services have obtained licenses to offer videos over the internet for reasonable fees in the past few years. I've watched a few games this way and the video quality is good and the fee is reasonable. Still, the percentage of games available is pretty low.
Personally, I have not uploaded a single game to YouTube. I have never participated in bit torrent exchanges. I have never sold or given away copies of the recordings I have. However, to get games I want in my collection, I will try to capture videos on the internet and I will buy DVDs of games from people I'm pretty sure don't have a legitimate basis to sell them. To some extent, I applaud these sellers as they are preserving history. I only wish people had been doing this long before now. Try to find a copy of the broadcast of Superbowl II.Â
I'm retired and spend a fair amount of my time with my game collection. I don't think there are many that share my hobby but one goal of my website is to explore and find others that share my hobby. If I can develop enough of a following, I plan to start a real blog on this hobby.
I agree most if not all of the uploads of TV broadcast are violating copyright laws. Some of linked uploads of non broadcast videos were likely uploaded by the copyright holder or with his permission. Others claiming to upload under the "Fair Use" likely have a misunderstanding of "Fair Use".
Some copyright owners of broadcast videos are diligent about having YouTube remove their videos. Others seem to periodically scan for their videos and have them removed. I think they do it just to show they give some effort to protect their copyrights. Some probably don't care or actually like their videos uploaded so they don't have to deal with people like me wanting copies of old games.
Look at it this way. Is there really much of a market for old football game videos? Try to find more than a handful of games from 3 or more years ago available on commercial DVDs. The copyright holders would not have enough buyers to make it profitable to offer such DVDs.Â
A few on demand services have obtained licenses to offer videos over the internet for reasonable fees in the past few years. I've watched a few games this way and the video quality is good and the fee is reasonable. Still, the percentage of games available is pretty low.
Personally, I have not uploaded a single game to YouTube. I have never participated in bit torrent exchanges. I have never sold or given away copies of the recordings I have. However, to get games I want in my collection, I will try to capture videos on the internet and I will buy DVDs of games from people I'm pretty sure don't have a legitimate basis to sell them. To some extent, I applaud these sellers as they are preserving history. I only wish people had been doing this long before now. Try to find a copy of the broadcast of Superbowl II.Â
I'm retired and spend a fair amount of my time with my game collection. I don't think there are many that share my hobby but one goal of my website is to explore and find others that share my hobby. If I can develop enough of a following, I plan to start a real blog on this hobby.