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<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\nThe Legality of Live Streaming Your Event<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Live streaming events is another instance of technology far surpassing legal protocol. Today’s complex network of wirelessly connected cameras, screens, and devices offers endless opportunities to easily create and share live stream content.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The commercial and promotional opportunities for live streaming your event are growing with the popularity of hybrid events. However, the uncertainty surrounding the raw nature of the content threatens event planners’ potential to incorporate and monetize live stream content in post-event media, sponsorship packages, or other video opportunities.<\/span> <\/p>\n\n\n\n This is why it\u2019s also important to have a strategy when you live stream your event, to ensure you are abiding by the law. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Recommended Resource: <\/strong>\ud83d\udcf9 If you’re planning to live stream, record and share your event content, you may need permission from your event stakeholders to release you from liability. For events, the legal aspects of streaming you should consider BEFORE you start include:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Intellectual property <\/b>includes copyrighted or trademarked material, trade secrets, sensitive company material, and any performance of a work of authorship, which includes but is not limited to keynote speeches, live performances, movie\/t.v. clips, and background music. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n But before we dive into the challenges and solutions of this tech, the ability to broadcast live video from any personal device to whoever is willing to watch raises the question: How do you police thousands of attendees who might be live streaming your event? But with the potential to accidentally commit copyright infringement and no easy way to moderate the experience, how can live streaming platforms be legally used at events?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Digital Millennium Copyright Act\u2019s (DMCA) \u201csafe harbor\u201d provision protects services and providers as long as they don\u2019t have prior knowledge of the activity and quickly respond to the rights owners\u2019 takedown requests. However, this poses a timing issue for events or performances that are affected by live streams. After live streaming your event, the takedown request could be applied to archived material, but the damage would have already been done in real-time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The DMCA has been YouTube\u2019s saving grace, though the platform has systems in place to catch and cut off broadcast copyright violators with regard to background music and embedded videos. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Big live streaming platforms like YouTube are not only protected by DMCA; their own \u2018terms of services\u2019 pushes the blame onto the host so policing the thousands of streams isn\u2019t a priority for the providers. Unfortunately, all the legal onus on the host of the stream puts event planners into the line of fire.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n A good place to start <\/span>understanding the legality of live streaming your event is that it\u2019s very similar to the legality of photographing or recording video at events. <\/span>The location where the live streaming is taking place will play a factor, as well as indicate the reasonable expectation of privacy. If you\u2019re not on company property, you\u2019ll likely need to get a location release from the property owner in order to legally broadcast the venue space. This is probably included in your venue contract but it\u2019s good to double-check.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n The reasonable expectation of privacy refers to the illegality of photographing or recording someone on video, without their consent, while on private property and live streaming is no exception. If there is a reasonable expectation of privacy, such as in a personal office, closed meeting room, or private residence, live streaming your event without permission is a no-go. Whereas if you\u2019re photographing, recording, or streaming in a public place (including conference halls, sports arenas, or concert venues) there is little to no legal action to be taken.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Since most events take place in what would be considered a public place, you\u2019re in the clear, right? Well not so fast…<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Recommended Resource: <\/strong>\ud83d\udcfa Are you planning to live stream your in-person event to a remote audience? The distinction to be made for streaming in public and an important note for live streaming, in general, is the \u201cright of publicity\u201d which dictates that any recorded video that\u2019s used for commercial or promotional purposes, requires the permission of individuals shown in the video. Therefore if you were to live stream your event with the intent to profit or promote, it and don\u2019t obtain consent from those shown during the broadcast, those people could potentially sue you or your event. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n There haven\u2019t been any public examples of legal actions being taken with events over the \u201cright of publicity\u201d but the potential is very real. Avoiding legal complications could be as simple as including a release form as part of your registration or posting a crowd release notice outside the event space. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n A crowd release isn\u2019t as legally concrete as signed permission but it will notify attendees of what\u2019s happening and allow them to leave if they don\u2019t want to be a part of the broadcast. Ensure you notify attendees before the event that you will be broadcasting as well as periodically throughout the event to avoid any confusion or issues in the future.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Example crowd release:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you have the location release and attendee\u2019s consent forms posted or collected, the other red flag you\u2019ll need to be wary of is any and all intellectual property that may be captured in your live stream. To best guard yourself against trademark or copyright infringement, check the area that will be visible in your stream for any screens, posters, logos, or artwork, and schedule your broadcast around performances, loud music, or sessions that may be covering sensitive material. Not having control over the content that\u2019s being instantly transmitted to your trusting followers and potential leads is definitely something to consider. Despite the risks, ephemeral content and providers are rapidly gaining notoriety and followers. So do your due diligence and add another arm\u2019s length to your social media reach. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n When you decide that live streaming your event is the right choice, here is a checklist for what you should do to ensure you\u2019re doing everything legally.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n Are you looking for a single vendor who can support you with the right mix of event management software and<\/em> live stream, video production and support services for your next event \ud83d\udc40? <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
Download the free<\/strong> <\/a>Release Form Template for Event Recordings<\/a> now<\/strong> to ensure there are no limitations on your right to publish and share your event content!<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
The answer is…you don\u2019t.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\nThe DMCA & Legal Onus of Live Streaming Your Event<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Capturing the Venue<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
![\"A](\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/live-streaming_privacy-02.png\")
<\/figure>\n\n\n\nWhat is Considered a Public Place?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Learn how the member-based organization Peerscale<\/a> broadened their reach by broadcasting in-person sessions to a remote audience, and seamlessly delivered virtual speaker presentations to their attendees onsite. And if you’re considering running a hybrid event, EventMobi\u2019s hybrid event platform<\/a> can help you.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\nRight of Publicity Restrictions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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<\/figure>\n\n\n\nPlan Ahead to Avoid Problems When Live Streaming Your Event<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
A best practice is to avoid high-traffic areas where attendees might not realize they\u2019re being streamed because they may say or do something you\u2019d rather not be affiliated with your event. This is where having a contingency plan would come in handy, such as having a secondary location to stream from with safe sight lines that are out of the way of your attendees.
At the end of the day, live streaming your event is generally legal if you\u2019re careful to avoid copyrighted material and collect the appropriate consent and releases. However, in addition to the murky legal waters, the live element of live streaming carries inherent uncertainty. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
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