In US copyright law, fair use allows someone to use copyrighted content under certain conditions without needing permission from the copyright owner. Common examples can include works of commentary, criticism, research, teaching, or news reporting.
Ultimately, courts decide fair use cases according to the facts of each unique case. You’ll probably want to get legal advice from an expert before uploading videos that use copyrighted content.
Fair Use - Copyright on YouTube
Four factors of fair use
In the US, when courts decide fair use cases, a judge will consider how the four factors of fair use apply to each unique case. The four factors of fair use are:
- Purpose and character of the use: Nonprofit education uses are more likely to be considered fair use than commercial uses. Adding new expression or meaning to the original material is more likely to be considered fair use than merely copying the original.
- Nature of the copyrighted work: Using material from primarily factual works is more likely to be considered fair use than using purely fictional works.
- Amount and substantiality of the portion used: Borrowing small bits of material from an original work is more likely to be considered fair use than borrowing large portions. But, if what’s borrowed is considered the "heart" of the work, sometimes even a small sampling may not be considered fair use.
- Effect of the use upon the potential market: Uses that harm the copyright holder's ability to profit from their original work are less likely to be fair uses. Courts have sometimes made an exception under this factor in cases involving parodies.
Am I protected by fair use if I...
Give credit to the copyright owner?
Transformativeness is usually key in the fair use analysis. Giving credit to the owner of a copyrighted work won’t by itself turn a non-transformative copy of their material into fair use. Phrases like “all rights go to the author” and “I do not own” don’t automatically mean you’re making fair use of that material. They also don’t mean you have the copyright owner’s permission.
Include a disclaimer in my video?
There aren’t any magic words to automatically apply fair use when you use someone else’s copyrighted work. Including the phrase “no infringement intended” won't automatically protect you from a claim of copyright infringement.
Say I'm using the content for "entertainment" or "non-profit" purposes?
Courts will carefully review the purpose of your use in evaluating whether it's fair. Declaring your upload to be “for entertainment purposes only,” for example, is unlikely to tip the scales in the fair use balancing test. Similarly, “non-profit” uses are favored in the fair use analysis, but it’s not an automatic defense by itself.
Add my original material to someone else's copyrighted content?
Even if you’ve added something to someone else’s content, it still may not be considered fair use. If your creation doesn’t add new expression, meaning, or message to the original, it probably isn’t fair use. As with all the other cases discussed here, courts will consider all four factors of the fair use test, including the quantity of the original used.
Live outside the US?
While rules about copyright exceptions are often similar around the world, they can differ. Different countries and regions may have different rules about when it's allowed to use copyrighted content without the copyright owner’s permission.
For example, in the EU, the use must fit into specific categories, such as quotation, criticism, review, caricature, parody, and pastiche. Other countries/regions have a concept called fair dealing that may work differently.
Keep in mind that we consider local rules when we review copyright removal requests. You can view the
YouTube Copyright Transparency Report for more info on how we process copyright removal requests, including how often we request additional info from copyright holders who claim a video doesn't qualify for a copyright exception.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ)
How does Content ID work with fair use?
If you upload a video containing copyrighted content without the copyright owner’s permission, you could end up with a
Content ID claim. The claim will keep you from
monetizing the video, even if you only use a few seconds, such as short uses of popular songs.
Automated systems like Content ID can��t decide
fair use because it’s a subjective, case-by-case decision that only courts can make. While YouTube can’t decide on fair use or mediate copyright disputes, fair use can still exist on YouTube. If you believe that your video falls under fair use, you can defend your position through the
Content ID dispute process. This decision shouldn’t be taken lightly. Sometimes, you may need to carry that dispute through the appeal and DMCA
counter notification process.
Options to resolve claims outside the dispute process
The easiest way to deal with Content ID claims is to avoid them in the first place. Check out the YouTube Audio Library for copyright-free music in your videos. If you choose to get music from other royalty-free or licensing sites, be sure to read the terms and conditions carefully. Some of these services may not give rights to use or monetize the music on YouTube, so you could still end up with a Content ID claim.
If you get a Content ID claim for music that isn’t essential to your video, try removing it or replacing it with copyright-free tracks from the YouTube Audio Library. You can also re-upload the video without the copyrighted content.
What is YouTube’s fair use protection initiative?
In rare cases, we’ve asked YouTube creators to join an initiative that protects some examples of “fair use” on YouTube from copyright removal requests. Through this initiative, YouTube indemnifies creators whose fair use videos have been subject to removal requests for up to $1 million of legal costs in the event the removal results in a copyright infringement lawsuit.
The goal of this initiative is to make sure these creators have a chance to protect their work. It also aims to improve the creative world by educating on both the importance and limits of fair use. Because of the variation in the rules governing such uses by different countries/regions, as described
above, we're only able to offer this initiative to creators living in the United States who agree to have their videos only available in the United States.