What kind of content is appropriate for blip.tv?

blip.tv is intended for original, episodic content. In other words, the service is designed to host content that you have created yourself, ideally as part of a regularly-updated 'show'.

What kind of content is prohibited on blip.tv?

Our terms of service prohibit certain kinds of content. These include nudity and pornography, content that advertises a product or service, copyrighted content uploaded without explicit permission from the copyright owner, and content that is offensive, threatening, harassing or illegal. It is also our policy not to accept videogame screen recordings.

What do you do if I upload prohibited content?

We may send you a note asking you to remove it. We may remove it ourselves. Or we may close your whole account immediately and permanently, depending on the severity of the violation.

Can I use blip.tv to host video ads or infomercials for my product or service?

No. We aren't a free hosting service for your ads. If we find content that looks like an ad or infomercial on blip.tv, we'll remove it.

I'm promoting an internet marketing/MLM/forex/work-at-home scheme, and I've been told blip.tv is a great place to put my videos. Is that true?

No. If you upload content which, in our judgment, promotes or is related to an online money-making scheme of any kind, we will remove your content and close your account.

But my videos are educational! Everyone wants to know how to make money! My products/services are of interest to all your viewers!

Lots of people say that. We don't buy it. Sorry.

I'm too cheap to pay for video hosting. May I use blip.tv to provide free video hosting for my business?

No.

Can I pay you to host my ads or other business content?

Unfortunately, we don't offer any kind of commercial hosting service. It's possible that this may change in the future, but at present we believe that properly supporting business users would use time and resources that would be better spent supporting our show creators.

I'm making a show. May I mention my product or business?

Yes. Our rules on advertising are intended to make sure that blip.tv doesn't get filled up with ads, 'infomercials' and sales pitches. But if you're making a show and you need to give appropriate credit or context, go ahead. We won't shut you down for that.

Can I upload other people's copyrighted content to blip.tv?

No. It's not only against our terms of service to upload copyrighted material without explicit permission from the owner, but it's illegal as well and could lead to you being taken to court and heavily fined.

When we are notified of copyright violations on blip.tv, we take immediate action to remove the items in question, in accordance with our copyright policy.

How do I know if something is copyrighted?

Unless you made it yourself, or it has a license giving you the right to reproduce it, or you know for a fact that the copyright has expired, assume that it's copyrighted and get permission before uploading.

Can I upload DVD and CD rips? What about recordings of TV programs, movie trailers and TV ads?

No. These are all copyrighted. Posting them is a copyright violation and can lead to the closure of your account. Worse, if the copyright owner finds out it can lead to you being taken to court and heavily fined.

But I only want to share my favorite movies and songs with my friends and family.

Sorry. It's still not allowed.

But I live in country X, where the laws are different.

blip.tv is located in the United States; our content is accessible all over the world through the Internet. We are governed by US and relevant international law, so if something would be illegal in the US or under international law, we don't allow it.

But other video sites are full of copyrighted content.

Fine. Go upload to one of those other sites. They may have different rules and policies. Our policy is strict: no copyright violations.

It's a bad idea to assume that it's legal to upload something just because you've seen it or something like it on a website. It may just be that the owners of the site haven't got around to deleting it yet, or it may be that the uploader or the site have received special permission from the copyright owner.

If I get permission, can I upload copyrighted content?

We'd rather see you upload your own original content. However, if the owner gives you explicit permission to upload their material to blip.tv (and it doesn't break any of our other rules), then you may do so.

If you are uploading content that is protected by copyright, please choose the appropriate license type (usually "All rights reserved") and add a note to the description to identify the copyright owner and make it clear that you have their permission to use it. Something like:

(c) John Doe 1998. Used with permission.

is good. This helps protect their copyright, and means that we're less likely to delete your account by mistake.

When posting copyright with permission, you should also choose the 'All rights reserved' license type, unless the owner has explicitly granted permission to distribute it under another license, such as one of the Creative Commons licenses.

I don't understand copyright. Where can I learn more?

There are lots of resources on the Internet. Smashing Magazine recently published a great roundup with lots of useful links under the title Copyright explained - I may copy it, right?.

Can I upload screen recordings from videogames?

No. Unfortunately, it's our policy not to accept videogame screen recordings.

Why not? Do you hate gamers?

We don't hate gamers. Many of the people who work for blip.tv are gamers. But there are several reasons why we don't allow videogame screen recordings (and other game-related content, such as cut-scenes or trailers).

The first has to do with copyright. Some videogame manufacturers regard the content of their games as copyrighted, and will sue people who make screen recordings. The law on this isn't always clear, but we don't want to get dragged into any court case between you and the game makers.

More importantly, videogame content simply isn't suitable for blip.tv (and vice-versa). Converting, hosting and serving videogame recordings uses too many of our resources, resources that we'd rather use to support people making novel, interesting video. Moreover, blip.tv doesn't offer any extra value for gamers: there's no reason to use us for videogame content when you could be on a video-hosting service that's dedicated to hosting game-related video.

Whoa - there are hosting services specifically for gamers?

Absolutely. Some of the great sites we've found include:

• gamerstube.com
• wegame.com
• gamevee.com
• gametrailers.com

They're dedicated to hosting game videos and providing a community and services for gamers. We encourage you to check them out and find the one that works for you.

Can I upload machinima?

Yes, machinima is welcome because it's much closer to what we think of as our core content. Just be sure to resolve any copyright issues related to the particular game engine you're using.

Can I make a show about videogames?

Yes, shows about videogames - news, reviews, opinions - are also very welcome.

Can I upload pornography?

No, sorry. We don't accept pornography. There are other sites that do; if you look around, you're sure to find some.

If we find content that we consider to be pornographic, we'll delete it and close your account.

Deciding what is and what isn't pornography is often a matter of opinion. In this case the opinion that counts is ours. If you have any doubts, ask us before uploading.

Is nudity allowed?

Our terms of service say 'no nudity', but we're often prepared to stretch the point if it serves a dramatic, artistic or educational purpose. Again, if you're in any doubt, ask us.

Nudity or partial nudity of children is prohibited.

Can I make a show that deals with sex and sexual topics?

Yes. We already have a number of great shows by sex bloggers and sex educators, as well as drama that deals with adult themes. We welcome material that is educational or entertaining; what we don't want is soft- or hard-core pornography.

Can I mark my adult-oriented content in some way?

Glad you asked. We use the TV content rating system. When you upload video, you can select a content rating to make it clear what audience it is intended for. We strongly encourage you to select an appropriate rating for all your videos, so that our visitors can make an informed choice about which videos they want to watch.

As well as the TV-style content rating system, we do have a checkbox for marking videos 'explicit', but don't feel you have to use that unless your video goes further than would be allowed by the TV-MA (Mature Audience) rating.

You deleted my video/show for a terms-of-service violation. Can I have it restored?

That depends. If you think you were unfairly closed down, you can write to us and explain why you think we were wrong to delete you. We do read and carefully consider all the messages we receive.

If you were shut down for copyright violations, porn or posting money-making schemes, your chances of having your account restored are very small.

You deleted my account, but someone else is posting videos just like mine and you haven't deleted them. Why not?

The usual reason is that we just haven't got around to them yet. We do try to apply our rules consistently and fairly.

I have a pro account. May I ... ?

Pro account holders are covered by all the same rules as free account users, including rules on commercial content, pornography and copyrighted material.

I'd like to upload a video, but I'm worried that it might violate your terms of service. What should I do?

Send us an email, describing the video you want to upload in enough detail to allow us to make a decision.

I have a question which this FAQ doesn't answer - what can I do?

Please use our support form to get in touch with us.