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Copyright

More about Copyright

Copyright in Hong Kong is governed by the Copyright Ordinance (Cap. 528) and the Common Law. In essence, copyright is a right granted to owners of original works (like films, literary works and music) automatically to prevent others from dealing with the work (e.g., copying, distributing, circulating, displaying or even storing), for any purpose, subject to certain exceptions, say for education purposes, or with the copyright owner’s consent, for example. An idea cannot be copyrighted. Therefore, random people cannot just download the video and re-upload it elsewhere without your permission. This is the same in the reverse. You cannot re-upload a film taken by someone else and just upload it on Youtube, even if you do not intend to monetise upon that. Yet, a random person can steal your idea and make a video about it, without any consequence. 

At most of the time, one would not re-upload someone else’s video because most would understand that is copyright infringement and refrain from doing so. Therefore, situations where there would be copyright infringement disputes are often when the exceptions are concerned, and where it is not the entirety of the work that is being copied, displayed and used in other ways. An example where there might be copyright infringement dispute is where a YouTuber reviews another YouTube video or a Netflix production, and showing some parts of the another film in the review videos. Thus, the exceptionswould be the focus of copyright-related information on this page.

For more about copyright generally, feel free to check out the Copyright 101 project created by other LiteLab students. The page teaches you why copyright is important and what it is in more detail. You may wish to visit the YouTube channel The Copyright Classroom 版權教室 – HKU for more about copyright as well. Nonetheless, YouTube is truly global. However, copyright law is not. Different countries have slightly different copyright laws. It should be noted that on this page, copyright in Hong Kong would be the focus and introduced in the context of Youtube video creation. For copyright laws of other jurisdictions, you may wish to consult other sources.

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Who are the copyright owners in the context of youtube video creating?

In Hong Kong, different types of work are protected seperately. Different components of a YouTube Video, such as the video (including the audio) itself, the script, movement, costumes, and the lyrics and music of songs, are separately protected. In copyright law in Hong Kong, “author” is an important concept because an author would be deemed as the first copyright owner in Hong Kong according to section 13 of the Copyright Ordinance. So, different authors own different works created for a YouTube video.

Thus, it may be that the copyright of the script of a YouTube video be owned by A; whilst the copyright of the YouTube video that uses the script is owned by B. However, for soundtracks of films, they are now expressly included in the film copyright (as part of the film), according to section 7(2) of the Copyright Ordinance.

Copyright of Video

In relation to film making (which includes YouTube video making), according to section 11(2)(b) of the Copyright Ordinance, the producer and the principal director would be taken to be the author of the work.. Therefore, generally, a YouTuber is most likely the first copyright owner of films. However, that would really depend on how one organise’s one YouTube channel.

Of course, as a YouTuber, you may indeed not want to be involved in film making at all but appear as a performer/ influencer in front of the camera only. In that case, the producer and the principal director of the film may be someone else. Also, a script writer may be someone else as well, and not the YouTuber himself. And in case the YouTuber established a vehicle to deal with the different aspects of which.

If a YouTuber hires an employee to help write scripts and be producer of the film used in YouTube videos, the copyright of the work will still be vested in the YouTuber according to section 14 of the Copyright Ordinance. If the person is not an employee, but an independent contractor, it would depend on the agreement, in answering the question of whom owns copyright of works created for the YouTube videos, according to section 15 of the Copyright Ordinance. However, generally speaking, the YouTuber 

(a) has an exclusive licence to exploit the commissioned work for all purposes that could reasonably have been contemplated by the author and the person who commissioned the work at the time the work was commissioned; and

(b) has the power to restrain any exploitation of the commissioned work for any purpose against which he could reasonably take objection.

Using Other Person’s Work in Your YouTube Video Responsibly

Step 1: Subsistence of Copyright

When we wish to use other person’s work, be it music, films, photos, we must first understand whether they are copyrighted. This is the first step. If the work that wished to be used is not copyrighted, then there simply would not be any copyright infringement issue. For example, an idea is generally not copyrighted, so if you adopt a certain topic that has been utilised by another YouTuber to make a film (e.g., ‘Last To Take Hand Off Jet, Keep It!’ – a recent video created by Mr. Beast) and make your own version of the ‘Last To Take Hand Off Jet, Keep It!’, there would not be copyright infringement (of course unless 

Step 2: Making sure that you are using

If the other person’s work is copyrighted, then you shall proceed to consider whether you may use the work without infringing the person’s copyright. You can legally use other’s copyright work without infringing their copyright if:

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