Welcome to our frequently asked questions page, where we try to answer all of the most commonly asked questions we receive.
Question: Can I contribute to StormChasingVideo.com, LLC (SCV) to send my footage to you to market to networks worldwide and in the United States?
Answer: Yes, we are always looking for new partners to work with, but we have some requirements that must be met, such as “Do You Own The Rights To The Footage?” and other questions, such as whether you are a serious content creator or if this is just a one-off thing. Are you seeking help to ensure you don’t get taken advantage of by the dozen other news outlets asking you to “Share and/or Name Credit” your content?
Question: Why does all your footage on this website and social media platforms have watermarks and annoying text on the screen?
Answer: The footage on StormChasingVideo.com and all of our social media pages is for news desks around the world, video production companies, video professionals, freelance editors, and/or producers to be able to pick various video clips for their projects. The on-screen time code will allow you to rapidly pick the clips you need to purchase the actual footage license for their projects.
We are also extremely vigilant about copyright protection and are forward-thinking about preventing video piracy by watermarking the footage and making it impossible to use without a license. If our footage is used without a license, it would be obvious to anyone that it is pirated.
Question: Do I need to order a sample reel for stock footage?
Answer: No. Years ago, if you wanted the highest quality demo footage to preview in your project, you would need to order a hard copy.
Since every video editing system is now non-linear, we only provide footage for non-linear editing (NLE) systems. We no longer provide hard copies of the stock footage demos; everything is transferred to the clients digitally.
Question: What is a “Stringer”?
Answer: Stringer is the news industry term for freelance photojournalists or videographers.
Question: Does “Fair Use” apply to the footage shot by StormChasingVideo.com, LLC?
Answer: NO. SCV is in the business of selling footage. Our group of freelance stringers owns the actual copyrights to the footage on our website and on all of the social media posts that we publish. SCV is what is known as a “Rights Management” company. Any claim of “Fair Use” by the news media or other media outlets and/or websites is a “Copyright Violation.” We pursue all copyright violations of our work for monetary damages.
Question: What Do We Consider A Copyright Violation?
Answer: Any public display of the footage we manage that the group of SCV stringers owns without a license is considered a copyright violation.
Example: You see something funny or insane that is going viral in the news from a client that we sold a license to for them to use, and you download the video and reupload it. That is a clear-cut case of video piracy copyright theft, and there is an excellent chance you might lose your social media channel and, in the worst case, be sued by us if you are a company or celebrity reposting our footage without a license to your own social media channel.
So let us make this perfectly clear: Uploading our footage to another website or using it in a public broadcast or non-broadcast display without a license violates the copyright.
Question: What will happen if SCV catches you or your company violating a copyright for our material?
Answer: In most cases, for broadcast television or long-format usage, we try to negotiate a license with the copyright violator before taking legal action.
Question: I uploaded something I thought was in the public domain to my META (Facebook/Instagram) page, and now I received an email saying I am in violation of copyright. SCV has struck the video down, and I have lost my channel or page.
Answer: You’re basically out of luck unless you are willing to buy a copyright violation license from SCV. We don’t retract copyright claims once they are made unless you are willing to pay a settlement fee.
Question: Where can I find out more information about copyright laws?
Answer: The United States Copyright Office has a detailed page about United States Code (USC) Title 17. Here is the link to Chapter 5 of USC 17 that describes what could happen if you are found in violation of a copyright.
This is why you need a license to use our footage.
http://www.copyright.gov/title17/92chap5.html
Question: What if I know of a copyright violation? Can I get a reward for telling SCV?
Answer: YES!!! If you report a copyright violation to SCV and we successfully recover damages and or obtain a footage violation license agreement, you can make up to Ten Percent (10%) after expenses with a cap of $3,500.
Question: How did you know we used your video on our social media page?
Answer: Copyrights and copyright enforcement are big businesses, and companies like Meta and Google must work with publishing companies such as SCV to comply with copyright laws. These companies have software that provides us with the same tools as the major music publishing companies to monitor everything published. We don’t have to seek it out; we get reports daily of who is using what, and if you’re pirating our material, we will find you and take your AdSense revenue or just hit your channel with DMCA requests and shut your Meta Accounts down.
If you still have questions about our site or the footage we manage, please contact us via the contact page. .