What is a football highlight video cut from a TV channel?
Football highlight videos are short videos that summarize outstanding, notable situations in a match, usually goals, saves, dangerous shots, or controversial situations. The purpose of highlights is to help viewers quickly grasp the main developments of the match without having to watch the entire 90 minutes.
Currently, highlight videos are widely released on many platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, TikTok or official sports sites. However, not everyone can produce and publish football highlights. Usually, the copyright to broadcast and edit highlights belongs to the unit that holds the copyright of the match, such as VTV, K+ or FPT Play in Vietnam.
That means, if you do not own or have not been licensed to use the image content from this source, cutting and re-posting the highlight video may violate the copyright and related rights of the copyright holder.
Is posting a football highlight video cut from a TV channel a copyright violation?
According to the 2022 Vietnamese Intellectual Property Law, copyright includes personal rights and property rights to the work, including broadcasting rights, copying rights, distribution rights and communication rights to the public.
For football matches, all images, sounds, commentary, graphics, logos, sound effects… recorded, edited and broadcast by the TV channel are considered copyrighted works or subjects related to copyright.
When you download videos from copyrighted TV channels such as VTV, K+, FPT Play, VTC, ON Sports…, then cut, edit and re-post them on platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Facebook or personal websites without an agreement or license to use, that action is considered an infringement of copyright and related rights. The reason is because you are using part or all of the content that others have invested in producing, including the rights to record, broadcast, comment, editing techniques and even the creative elements of the production team. Even if you cite the source, attach a logo or declare it “non-profit”, that action is still a violation of the law if not permitted by the copyright owner.
Forms of handling according to legal regulations:
- Administrative sanctions: According to Decree 17/2023/ND-CP, acts of copyright infringement can be fined from 10 to 30 million VND, along with measures to force the removal or destruction of the infringing video.
- Risk of channel lockout, loss of revenue: Platforms like YouTube or TikTok have an automatic copyright scanning system (Content ID). If duplicate content is detected, your video may be deleted, monetized, or your account may be locked.
How to create legal football content, avoid copyright infringement
In the era of strong social media development, football highlight videos are always a “gold mine” attracting views and interactions. However, many content creators, due to lack of legal knowledge, accidentally violate copyright, leading to loss of channel, loss of revenue, and even being fined.
To share your passion for football while complying with the law, you can refer to some of the following legal, creative and sustainable ways to create content:
- Make your own videos commenting, analyzing, predicting or evaluating tactics, using legal illustrations (For example: Predicting results or comparing squads – “The strongest squad of Euro 2025 if not injured”.). This is the safest and most encouraged form. You can completely create unique videos with your own perspective and football knowledge.
- Link or embed official highlight videos from copyrighted channels (for example, YouTube pages of K+, VTV, FPT Play …). This method not only helps viewers access legitimate sources, but also helps you build clean, trustworthy content, without worrying about having your videos deleted or your channel locked.
- Make reaction videos, analyze situations but do not directly insert footage from copyrighted videos, instead only use photos or simulated graphics. This form is used by many professional football YouTube and TikTok channels, helping them to both ensure copyright protection and maintain attractive and unique content.
- Cooperate or ask for copyright permission from broadcasting rights holders if you want to exploit official content for commercial purposes (For example: match review, re-report, post highlights to make money). Units such as K+, FPT Play, VTVcab, Next Media… often have policies on content cooperation or licensing for qualified media channels, partners or creators. When there is a cooperation agreement, you will be allowed to use highlight videos, interview clips or official graphics, and at the same time receive legal protection and the opportunity to legally earn money from football content. This is a professional and long-term direction if you really want to develop in the sports media sector.
Above is the article “Is posting football highlight videos cut from TV channels a copyright violation?” that VCD wants to share with you. Respecting copyright not only helps you avoid breaking the law but also builds a professional and trustworthy image in the sports content creation community.
Sincerely,
Yes. Even if you record it yourself with your personal device, the content inside is still an image signal produced and broadcast by the TV station. Therefore, posting this video online without the consent of the copyright holder is still considered an infringement of broadcasting rights according to Article 44 of the Intellectual Property Law.
According to Article 28 of the Intellectual Property Law, even if only a part of the content of a TV program is used without the consent of the owner, that act is still considered illegal copying and editing. Only in the case of reasonable quotation for commentary, illustration and clearly stating the source is considered a legal exception according to Article 25 of the Intellectual Property Law.