Risks of a Documentary/Video Essay-style video using copyrighted material

Seuttell

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Hi everyone.

I'm in the process of making a video essay style video about the deceptive practices of the Transcendental Meditation movement and its originator, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.

The video will be about thirty minutes long. I am using footage from many different sources, including content found on various official Transcendental Meditation youtube channels.

Before making the video, I contacted the organisation's UK headquarters (I live in England) and asked their permission to use content from their Youtube channels (without telling them much about the video's "angle"). They said if I used clips from their official channels, that'd be fine.

Does an email permission like this mean I don't have to worry about being sued? Or is there often a catch to permission like this on the legal front?

I see many Youtube channels - like those of James Jani and Jake Tran - making the kind of video that I'm presently making, and they seem to avoid any trouble. Like theirs, my video features original components (writing, music, voiceover, etc), uses stock footage, commentary and criticism, and often re-contextualises copyrighted footage to serve the specific purposes of the video.

Yet I'm still worried about the possibility of getting sued if I post this video on Youtube.

What do you make of my case?

Thanks in advance for sharing your thoughts.
 

christaelrod

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Using copyrighted material is always high risk.

You won't be able to monetize your videos if you get a copyright strike. Additionally, your account won't be able to live stream. Continuous 3 copyright violations result in the termination of your YouTube channel. Copyright violations end after three months.