Video Posting and Copyright

This is something that I've pondered since helping a friend research the laws governing on-line copyright infringement for law school. Youtube, Facebook, and etc. all allow users to upload their videos for sharing with friends. A lot of people like me use music as background accompaniment. Software like Windows Movie Maker almost has a fit if a person tries to publish without it. Now the conundrum. How can a person publish a homemade video with background music when it will almost certainly violate somebody's copyright. I recently posted a vid to LJ using a foreign band whose record label does not oppose fan use of their music. Not a lot of record labels are as generous. To compound the issue, there is no hard and fast rule governing who accepts what. Different sites have different policies.

I posted a little vid to Youtube two days ago, and the sound was removed because of third party copyright infringement. As soon as I saw that, I deleted the video. Today, I posted a similar video with different music. They once again said that third party copyright was infringed upon, however instead of removing the audio, they just added an ad for the album and ringtone. Youtube accepted it. Facebook did not.

I know why there was a crack down, but wonder what the effect will be on those who enjoy posting fanfic videos. I just posted a couple of photo compilations of puppies and ran into trouble. What is it for people whose hobby is ripping clips from tv series for use in fanfic vids? I'm thinking that the lawsuit brought against Youtube may signal an end to that kind of entertainment. I hope not. Some of the fanfic is very entertaining.