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What we are talking about, which is taking images of someone other than a public figure and putting them on the Internet, is not considered as a part of copyright laws. It's a privacy law. Unless there is a clear consent, in writing, it's against the law to post image of a person without permission. Most people either don't know or don't care. It doesn't mean it's OK.
I worked for a private investigative firm for two years, and what you say above isn't true. My firm investigated insurance fraud, and our services always included video evidence of the subject disobeying their disability limitation requirements.
ANY video in public of anything does not fall under privacy rules as long as it is considered "reasonable line of sight." You can not video tape someone/something that is taking intentional measures to avoid being in public line of sight (i.e., bathrooms), but it is perfectly legal to stand on public property and film someone's house/property, etc. We did it all the time, and entered these videos as evidence in court, and had a 90+% success rate.
If they are in line of sight, i.e., exterior windows, you can even stand on public property and film people inside their homes. State supreme courts have even roundly upheld the right of UPSKIRT web sites to film under women's skirts in public as long as they are in line of sight (i.e., not intentionally using mirrors, etc.).
Bottom line, you have almost NO privacy rights in public. Look it up, it is very much a reality.
Do you think the nightly news gets consent to show videos of criminals being arrested in public, or riots, etc.?
Filming someone doing karaoke in public would be perfectly legal as long as you don't use that video for financial gain. If someone wanted to sue you saying your karaoke company MADE MONEY by having their video on YouTube, they would have to prove the actual monetary value/damages of that act, which is minimal and probably not worth the lawsuit unless you are filming someone famous.
Film on....get your singer's consent to post their performances as a matter of personal integrity......I still contend that the worst you have to worry about is the copyright owners asking you to take the video down.
Topher, the only point I would make is that most, if not all, karaoke place is not considered public place. It's a private place and such a law does not apply. You are absolutely right in that if I were to sit in a corner of a street and perform and someone films me and puts it on the YouTube, you may consider it a public performance and you probably can get away with it. However, bars and restaurants and such are considered a private space and that law does not apply.
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