Fair use question for gaming videos

[The Big Plume]

Are you allowed to make opinion videos about topics using different gameplay clips such as trailers showing what you are talking about would that constitute as fair use ? If you look at my channel I just use gameplay I have recorded but i want to show small clips related to my topic so I would need to use clips I haven't recorded

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[NoirAscii]

If you are using somebody else's clips, just make sure that you credit them and contact them to make sure they are happy with that. As for using trailers, the same rules apply, especially if you are intending to monetize your videos.

Fair use is an incredibly grey area and a lot of the time, it doesn't apply unless permission is given prior to upload/monetization.

 

[Tarmack]

it doesn't apply unless permission is given prior to upload/monetization.

No, that's not true at all.

Fair Use is a defense in court against getting sued for copyright infringement, also termed an affirmative defense. This means you're admitting to infringement but claiming you fall into certain exemptions within the Fair Use Doctrine. You very specifically do not require permission to use copyrighted material under Fair Use. Requiring permission would defeat the whole purpose of Fair Use in the first place.

For the OP, the answer is that it depends on the video. You need to consider a couple of things. Fair Use won't protect you from ContentID which is the automatching algorithm YouTube uses. Most trailers are not entered into the system, but some are, so you just need to be aware of that. I would suggest reading up on Fair Use, the kinds of things that it covers such as news broadcast and critique/commentary (not commentary like YouTubers often use to mean "talking" but actual commentary on a particular thing and using footage of that thing to support your words).

 

[NoirAscii]

What you did there was omit part of my sentence to make your own point. Please refer to the post again, take note of what I said properly because otherwise you are coming across as if you are reprimanding me for giving advice.

To further my original point, considering that it is a lot easier to be on the safe side, let alone the fact that fair usage policy is frequently thrown out during litigious proceedings, where possible you should attempt to contact the content creators, even if it is just for your own ethical security.

 

[Tarmack]

I tend to address the most egregious portions of things that people say because they are the most important bits.

Your post advised contacting and asking for permission, which is fine and a good idea sometimes. However, if it came across as reprimanding for providing advice, then it was aptly received. Providing legal advice is an extremely dangerous avenue and individuals must be absolutely sure of the veracity of their claims. Your final statement says "Fair use is an incredibly grey area and a lot of the time, it doesn't apply unless permission is given prior to upload/monetization."

The fact remains that this is a false statement. Yes, Fair Use is a grey area, but the rest of the statement about a lot of the time it doesn't apply unless permission is given is simply factually false. Fair Use is acknowledged copyright infringement. You are acknowledging by claiming Fair Use that you are infringing upon the copyright of someone else but you have an exemption in law that permits the method of use. This requires no permission.

If you got permission, you have a license of sorts and do not require Fair Use. So the idea of getting permission or claiming Fair Use are totally competing methods of using content.

 

[Loery Potpie]

There's a youtube video of video creators that goes into depth of it. Type in on youtube: '' How To Legally Use Copyrighted Music, Games, and Movies on YouTube '' and you get a good explanation of it.