kide, that's really not entirely fair--when you think about it, how can a site with user-managed content NOT have 'long' clips? if anyone can upload, that means anything and everything will be uploaded. i have temporarily put a cap on how big of a video can be uploaded, actually around 18MB which I figure can't be much more than 4-5 mins, but the problem is that it's still user-uploaded content, and there will always be issues keeping it to 'short clips', as a 18 mb FLV video can be like 10 mins or more.
the thing about sponsors being pissed, that isn't a factor with most tube sites, as most of us aren't using paysite sponsors' content, which IS illegal.
those of us who keep our sites legal (like SteamShare.com) by putting clauses about what you can and cant upload and having a publicly available way to tell us if something shouldn't be there, that's more than sufficient by law(see below for parts of our TOS that make it legal, which was edited by our attorney). i have also conferred with several of our sponsors, one of which was dropped because our policy wasn't perfectly in tune with theirs, in that we couldn't under their rules offer clips with any watermarks other than theirs, which is a fair share of our videos.
The way I see it, if it's legal under DMCA's OCILLA provisions, any sponsor who doesn't like it isn't worth my time anyway.
Code:
Copyrighted Works
The Company is an Online Service Provider ("OSP", "Service Provider") as defined under U.S.C. Title 17, Section 512(k)(1), and is protected under Safe Harbor provisions of set forth under the DMCA ("Digital Mellinnium Copyright Act") Title II ("Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act"). The Company reserves the right to remove content from The Service that appears to infringe the copyright or other intellectual property rights of others. In addition, The Company may ban and permanently remove from its member database users that appear to repeatedly infringe the copyright or other intellectual property rights of others, as defined under U.S.C. Title 17, Section 512(i)(1)(A).
If you believe that your copyright in any material has been infringed on the The Service website, please notify our copyright claims agent, who can be reached at copyright(@)steamshare.com. You may also send a written request to SteamShare Entertainment, Office of Copyright Claims, (address removed from this post), Virginia Beach, VA 23464. By physically mailing your request, you understand the we are not liable for notices which are not received by us. The best way to notify us of infringement is by e-mail.
You must provide our agent with information regarding the copyright, and identify the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed. Your notice must include the following, as required under U.S.C. Title 17, Chapter 512(c)(3)(A)(i-vi):
(i) A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
(ii) Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works.
(iii) Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material, i.e. a direct link to the content posted on the site.
(iv) Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted.
(v) A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.
(vi) A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Additionally, the site provides thumbnails generated automatically by our automated user submission system, and descriptions of all materials, as supplied by the user responsible for the uploading of the content. Before reporting any files to us for deletion, you should have taken notice of the above information.
If we receive proper notification of copyright infringement, as defined in U.S.C. Title 17, Section 512(c), we will review the notification, and if necessary, request clarification. If no clarification is required, the allegedly infringing content will be removed, or access to the content will be disabled in an expeditious manner, as defined in U.S.C. Title 17, Section 512(c)(1)(C). Generally, a complete and properly submitted removal request will be honored within 3-5 business days.