Legal and Rights issues
Before we upload BBC material or invite users to upload their user generated content to a page on a social networking site, we should make sure that we are aware of, and comfortable with, the site’s own terms and conditions. This is because by uploading our content, it is likely that we are agreeing to be bound by its terms.
For example
- We need to make sure we have the necessary rights to any content we put on third party sites - not only to ensure we do not breach our agreements with rights holders but also because we are likely to be liable to the site itself if we post uncleared material
- Some sites’ terms and conditions covering uploaded content only allow “personal” reuse and do not allow any “commercial” reuse of content or envisage any reuse on radio or TV. If you want to reuse uploaded content on radio or TV, you should first consult Legal and Business Affairs to get the necessary consents
- Some sites’ terms and conditions state that the site is for personal use only and not for “commercial” use - we should be aware that if we use such a site to promote BBC content, we may technically be in breach
- Some sites will take a pretty broad licence to use BBC content and the BBC trademark ; while this may be a necessary risk, BBC content and BBC brands should only be posted for as long as is necessary and be removed once they have achieved their purposes on the site
In some cases, the BBC has managed to add additional bespoke terms to an informal arrangement, to mitigate risk and facilitate our use of the content. Legal and Business Affairs in FM&T can advise.