Hey, bro, have you ever got a copyright strike for using a video or audio clip in your own
video?
Herman: Funny you should ask that, because I once got a copyright strike for using two
seconds of an audio clip in one of my videos.
That really sucks, did you win the appeal?
Unfortunately not, and as a result, I couldn't live stream for three months.
Oh, my goodness, that was funny.
In this video, you'll learn what fair use for YouTube videos means and how to avoid
fair use copyright on YouTube.
Hello, my name is Herman Drost.
If you want to grow your audience on YouTube and generate traffic, leads, and sales on
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What does fair use for YouTube videos mean?
According to YouTube, fair use is legal doctrine that says you can reuse copyright protected
material under certain circumstances without getting permission from the copyright owner.
Here's an example of a short video clip I got from somebody else's video that I used
on my own video and added commentary.
Speaker 2: What about reactions or offering commentary?
Because that's something that at least I personally have seen all over YouTube.
How does that fit in with what you're saying here about duplication?
Herman: If you want to check out this video about using duplicate content in your own
videos, click the link in the card.
Just make sure you add something new or beneficial to transform the other piece of original content.
There's no silver bullet that says you're protected by fair use when you use copyrighted
material that you don't own.
Here are five tips for minimizing the risk of copyright liability when using fair use
material.
Number one, make sure it's transformative.
This is where you're adding new expression or meaning to the original works instead of
just copying it.
Commercial works are less likely to be fair use.
You must use the work in such a way that it's clear the purpose is commentary, news reporting
or criticism.
Try to add something new or beneficial to improve it rather than just copying it.
Number two, use only small portions of the original work rather than large portions.
In my example, I only used a few seconds of somebody else's video.
Number three, use material for factual works rather than purely using material from fictional
works.
If your source is factual or non-fiction, limit your copying to the facts and the data.
Number four, use Creative Commons or freely licensed material.
Creative Commons videos or music allows you to reuse or edit material for your own use.
When an author assigns a Creative Commons license to their own material, it's free to
use for the public.
All you have to do is to give attribution to the original author in the description
below your video.
If you want to learn more about how to find and use Creative Commons videos in your own
videos, click the link in the card.
You probably have some questions about fair use that you're not sure about.
Here are four fair use myths.
Number one, what if I give credit to the original copyright owner, is that fair use?
Just giving credit to the original copyright owner doesn't make it transformative.
As I mentioned previously, you got to transform the original content instead of just copying
it outright.
One way to avoid that is to secure all the unlicensed elements in your video before you
upload it to YouTube.
Number two, what if I post a disclaimer on my video, is that fair use?
There are no magic words to avoid fair use copyright.
Even if I say all rights go to the owner or I don't own, it doesn't automatically give
you permission to use that copyright material.
Number three, what if I use the material for entertainment or non-profit purposes?
Court will carefully evaluate whether your material is fair use.
Just declaring your material is for entertainment purposes only will not pass the fair balance
test.
Even if your material is non-profit, which favors fair use, it's not a defense in itself.
Number four, what if I added my original work that I created to somebody else's copyrighted
material, is that fair use?
Even if you add a small portion of your own original content to somebody else's copyrighted
content, it may not come under fair use if you don't add some new meaning, message or
expression to the content.
Ultimately, the courts will consider the four factors of the fair use test including how
much of the original content you're using.
I'll place links to resources about fair use in the description below this video.
What if you recorded some music that was playing in the background while you were out filming
on location, would that be considered fair use?
Unfortunately not, unless you got permission from the person playing the music.
The bottom line for using fair use material in your own videos and avoid copyright is
to transform the original content, use a small portion of it like just a few seconds or use
Creative Commons videos or music because it's freely licensed work.
For example, you can freely use the music from YouTube's audio library in your own videos
without worrying about getting any copyright strike.
If you're not sure about using somebody else's material in your own video and it constitutes
fair use, contact a YouTube lawyer.
My buddy in Cozine is a YouTube lawyer that sorts out legal issues for YouTube creators,
a link to his channel in the card.
If you want to learn more about how to find and use Creative Commons videos in your own
videos without getting a copyright strike, watch my next video.
You'll also learn how to make money with Creative Commons videos.
Thanks for watching and we'll see you in the next video.