Main Quest: Does Your Gaming Stream Violate the Copyright Act?
Streaming platforms, such as Twitch, Mixer and YouTube Gaming, are quickly becoming household names, with daily viewership rates that rival those of more traditional media outlets, including cable channels like CNN and ESPN. As video game streaming increases in popularity, more and more individuals are trying to make a name for themselves, along with a lucrative living, by creating content to feature on these platforms. Unfortunately, as often is the case with new media, the law has not kept pace with the rise of this content, leaving both streaming services and individual content creators in a legal gray area with respect to intellectual property ownership and infringement. In this article, we discuss why copyright owners may be concerned about streaming, the rights that may be implicated by such streams and what defenses streamers might try to assert if presented with claims of copyright infringement.
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