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Glossary

What Is Fair Use on YouTube?

Fair use is a rule of US copyright law that allows some use of copyrighted material without the owner’s permission. A court decides it, case by case.

Fair use comes from US law; other countries have exceptions of their own, often similar but not the same. YouTube’s help page says courts decide fair use cases according to the facts of each case, weighing four factors: the purpose and character of the use (commentary, criticism, teaching and news, and new meaning, count for it; nonprofit education more than commerce), the nature of the work (factual more than fiction), the amount taken (and whether it is the heart of the work), and the effect on the owner’s market. A court decides, not YouTube, not a tool and not the creator.

Nothing automatic can decide it: Content ID matches files and cannot judge fair use. Giving credit does not by itself make a copy fair use, and writing “no infringement intended” does not protect a video. YouTube advises getting legal advice before uploading when in doubt.

Fair use is a question about copyright only. YouTube’s reused content rule for monetization applies whatever the answer, so a video can be fair use and still not be monetized.

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Questions

Who decides if a video is fair use?

A court, according to the facts of each case. YouTube, Content ID and the creator cannot decide it.

Does giving credit make it fair use?

No. YouTube lists this as a myth: credit alone does not make a copy that adds nothing fair use.

Does “no copyright intended” protect a video?

No. YouTube says no special wording creates fair use.

Is fair use the same everywhere?

No. It is US law. Other countries have their own exceptions, often similar but not the same.

If my video is fair use, can it be monetized?

Not necessarily. Monetization follows YouTube’s own policies, including reused content, whatever the copyright answer.

Sources

Related terms

Public domain footage

Public domain footage is video no longer, or never, protected by copyright, so anyone may use it without permission. It is not the same as free stock footage.

Open

Commentary video

A commentary video is one that shows someone else’s clip or work and adds the creator’s own voice: explanation, criticism, context or an argument.

Open

Content ID

Content ID is YouTube’s system that checks uploads against copyright owners’ files and, on a match, blocks the video, monetizes it for the owner or tracks it.

Open

Copyright strike

What YouTube gives a channel when a copyright owner has one of its videos removed with a legal takedown request. Three active strikes end the channel.

Open