Use of Other People's Possessions on Youtube

Chavways

Hi,

I have a question about Youtube. I'm not sure where else I post this so sorry if it's in the wrong place.

I'm thinking of getting into freelance videography and news reporting. I'm just wondering if I was to upload a video of a car, would I have to cover up the registration plate if I did not have the owners permission to use the footage of the car? Is it actually illegal to show the number plate? Is it an invasion of privacy even if the car is in a public place?

Sorry for all of the questions. Just want to get it right from the beginning.

Any help will be appreciated.

Paulw

If the car is in public and you are filming from a public place, then there is no expectation of privacy. Also, a car has no right to privacy.

I can't see any reason why you can't display the license.

the world wonders

There are potential defamation issues if your video implies or suggests that a particular car registration might be connected to any unsavoury activity.

Paulw

the world wonders wrote: »

There are potential defamation issues if your video implies or suggests that a particular car registration might be connected to any unsavoury activity.

Surely the defamation would only apply to the person driving the car, rather than to the car itself, or even the owner of the car?

GerardKeating

Paulw wrote: »

Surely the defamation would only apply to the person driving the car, rather than to the car itself, or even the owner of the car?

Would the owner of the car not claim that it was implied that they were the driver, which is not an unreasonable assumption.

Paulw

GerardKeating wrote: »

Would the owner of the car not claim that it was implied that they were the driver, which is not an unreasonable assumption.

But the information of the owner details and the vehicle registration are not public info. There is no public way to link the vehicle to the owner. You can't lookup the vehicle owner from the reg of a car.

The car could have been stolen from the owner, or another party could be driving the car (with the owner's permission).

At least that would be my opinion of the situation.

234

Paulw wrote: »

But the information of the owner details and the vehicle registration are not public info. There is no public way to link the vehicle to the owner. You can't lookup the vehicle owner from the reg of a car.

The car could have been stolen from the owner, or another party could be driving the car (with the owner's permission).

At least that would be my opinion of the situation.

The reasonable member of society, in possession of sufficient information, must be able to identify the plaintiff from the publication. The test is one based on the possibility of identification, not actual identification.

Considering that the information linking a car registration to a person is not public it would be hard to find defamation. There is also the issue of the person the car is registered to not necessarily being the person driving.

the world wonders

234 wrote: »

Considering that the information linking a car registration to a person is not public it would be hard to find defamation.

It's certainly possible to link a car registration to a person. If I see a car parked in my neighbour's driveway every day then I can link the registration of that car to my neighbour. The general public would not be able to make this link, however defamation only requires a single third party.

See this case where the plaintiff won €20k despite not being actually named in the offending article because the jury decided that he could be identified from the limited details given:

• Garda detective libelled in newspaper article, court told
• Garda wins €20,000 over libel article

234

the world wonders wrote: »

It's certainly possible to link a car registration to a person. If I see a car parked in my neighbour's driveway every day then I can link the registration of that car to my neighbour. The general public would not be able to make this link, however defamation only requires a single third party.

See this case where the plaintiff won €20k despite not being actually named in the offending article because the jury decided that he could be identified from the limited details given:

• Garda detective libelled in newspaper article, court told
• Garda wins €20,000 over libel article

The newspaper report you have linked is of a slightly different nature. Clearly quite a large body of people, not least most of his Gardai colleagues, would have been able to identify the plaintiff.

There is also the issue that this seems to just have been a finding of fact by the jury, not the best way to interpret the law.

I can see your point about being able to see your neighbour's registration, but it seems a little tenuous. The fact is that the video still doesn't identify a person.

Wheelnut

The registration number is visible to the public so that they can use it if necessary, for instance to identify the car if the need arises. So, strictly speaking there is no need to hide the number. However, this is a small country and you might be better off covering the number. For instance it would not be the first time that a wife recognised a picture of her husband's car and noticed that the woman in the passenger seat was not her!

I am a subscriber to a car magazine and a few years ago they published a nice photo of one of their own cars on the front cover. Some months later they received a fine from police in a different part of the country because of an incident that the car was involved in. When they checked they found that the car was still in their possession and had never been to that other part of the country. It turned out that someone had done a bit of cloning by copying the number plate from the magazine cover and put it on an identical car.

You just don't know what someone will use the registration number for if you make it visible to them, so you're better off to avoid hassle by not showing it.