A question about Youtube Partnership, Adsense and Copyright

OzzieMonkey

Hi guys,
I just created my AdSense account and linked it to my YouTube account. However, my idea for videos in the area of film reviews puts me into a bit of a tricky position, as I would like to show screencaps/pics from the film while narrating, but I'm not sure if that would count as a copyright breach. I've had to delete all my walkthroughs of video games in case I get into trouble there aswell. So, I guess my question in the simplest form is; what kind of media can I use in my videos without film and game companies knocking on my door?

DAISHI

Fair Use Act

17 U.S.C. § 107

Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 17 U.S.C. § 106 and 17 U.S.C. § 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include:

the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes;

the nature of the copyrighted work;

the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and

the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work.

The fact that a work is unpublished shall not itself bar a finding of fair use if such finding is made upon consideration of all the above factors.

JedExodus

It may depend, I don't know if Youtube in Australia's subject to Oz's copyright laws or the states.

My advice whilst less informative than Daishis would be to only use small clips, nothing longer than 20 seconds. That way you can always argue that you're not giving away substantial content.

That said i've seen videos that clearly fell into the 'criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research' category being lifted. Just depends on how defensive the copyright holder is I guess.

DAISHI

I'll elaborate with just one more rule of thumb:

If the work in question is used in your critique in short bursts (like JedExodus said) of 10-15 seconds then you can successfully argue that you are not taking away from the ability of the producers to make a profit. Therefore, you are protected under law.