Hi,
Our app was denied approval because of...
"Reasons: Concerns about the rights of the songs. [Piracy]"
Our widget (or a link to our site) is currently being hosted by numerous Warner Brothers and Koch Records recording artist web sites on Myspace. We think this is the best evidence that actual copyright holders do not have any issues with the Mixmonsta widget and technology. Here are urls to a number of record-label-managed MySpace artist sites that are showcasing the Mixmonsta widget, or a link to our site.
(Styles P Video Mashup Contest headline)
http://www.myspace.com/stylesp
(Make an Unk Video DJ Mix headline)
http://www.myspace.com/djunkoompcamp
(Remix our Videos headline)
http://www.myspace.com/idiotpilot
(Mix Talib Kweli Videos on MixMonsta.com headline)
http://www.myspace.com/talibkweli
(Watch/Make Jessi Malay Remixes headline)
http://www.myspace.com/jessimalay
Beyond the evidence that record labels and artists don't think our applications infringe on their copyrights, there are no copyright issues with the Mixmonta Music Video Mixer for the following reasons:
1. The application never "saves" any video mashup or Video DJ remix. And it never "saves" the original videos that were used to make those mixes. When a user makes a video mashup, for example, all that is saved is the script of actions that the user took to create the mashup. Those actions basically amount to choosing which of the two videos appears on the main screen at any moment, and which of the two audio tracks is audible at any given moment. It's like jumping back and forth between two channels on a television.
When a video mashup is replayed, we again stream the two original videos through the player, and then replay the user's action script to determine which video stream is displayed on the main screen at any moment.
Making a video mashup does not physically alter either of the two videos that were used in the mashup. It also does not create a new video file that contains altered (mashed together) parts of the two videos. The two videos used for the mashup are never physically modified in any way.
2. Mixmonsta is not a video hosting site. We never "save" the original videos used in mixes, or the mixes themselves. All we save is the "script" of the user's actions that were taken to create a mashup of Video DJ mix.
When a user watches a video or makes a video mix on the Mixmonsta widget, the videos are streamed live directly to the widget. The videos are never saved on, or stored on our servers.
If a host site removes a video that was used in a Mixmonsta mix, that mix will no longer play or display - on the widget, on our site, or anywhere else, because the "live" content that was accessed each time to create the mix is no longer available.
3. Mixmonsta only lets users search for and access videos from sites that are already guaranteeing that their content maintains all copyright protections (via Audible Magic, etc.) - such as MySpace, YouTube and Dailmotion.
4. Users cannot download, upload or save the videos that they watch or mash using the Mixmonsta player.
5. Users cannot "Send to Phone" any copyrighted video mix. The Send to Phone button utilizes the Cellfish network, which also guarantees copyright protection (via Audible Magic, etc.).
If you have concerns that YouTube and Dailymotion do not adequately protect the rights of copyright holders for their videos, we can resubmit the application so that it will only access and mix videos that are hosted by MySpace.
We would appreciate any advice on how we go about requesting a formal review of what our application is actually doing, and the safeguards that are already built into it to prevent copyright infringement.
Thanks for your help.