N&O, ESPN, YouTube, and The ACC

I read the News and Observer college basketball blog ACC Now. Todays post called The final 12.7 seconds contains a YouTube video of the end of the Duke vs Clemson game on ESPN. (see image bellow) Quite a nail bitter. Last minute bucket by Clemson player Hamilton tied the game 66 to 66. I really appreciated seeing this video online because I missed the cool live moment. (Plus I’m a Carolina fan and really only care about the Tar Heels.)

But this “convergence” moment by Main Stream Media intrigued me. Something happened here that would have corporate lawyers in a giant tizzy just a year or two ago. Maybe they’re still concerned about this, I don’t know.

What would concern lawyers about YouTube video on the N&O site?
The use of copyrighted material that this media player, as far as I know, does not own or have rights to. (if there is a notice of permission on the site I missed please let me know.)

Click on image for larger version.

Here’s what happened with this simple blog post. The News and Observer, owned by The McClatchy Company, has a video captured by YouTube user goheels88 on their for-profit website. The video is a copyrighted product of ESPN and the Atlantic Coast Conference. Not to mention the rights of Duke University and Clemson University. You have one media outlet profiting, capturing eyeballs for ad revenue, by leveraging the copyright of two to four owners.

Is posting a YouTube video like this on the N&O site legal?

I hope it is. Its very possible that YouTube, now owned by tech giant Google, has licensed video clips from ESPN that are captured by YouTube users. Or maybe lawyers believe that any content still publicly available on the YouTube site is fair game. Bloggers do it so why can’t businesses?

If all these corporate entities have reached an agreement then I applaud them. If they have just decided its stupid to sue each other when this video promotes everyones interest then I congratulate you. Any way you look at it this is a watershed moment in the commons of information.

Please do me a favor N&O, send goheels88 a case of beer for capturing that video. He’ll need it when the Tar Heels demolish Dook in a few weeks.