YouTube pops into the news quite oft when it comes to high profile creators being banned for breaching i of their many policies.  Creators can go banned for any number of reasons including spreading misinformation or posting inappropriate content.

Notwithstanding, it'due south non only the rich and famous who tin can be banned by YouTube. Copyright infringements see users receiving copyright strikes, existence banned, having content removed or demonetised on the regular. Copyright laws in Commonwealth of australia can be complex and  it's easy to trip united states up.

Copyright can exist complex especially in the surface area of digital content creation, and getting legal clarification early on could save you lot from large headaches downwards the line.

Anyone using YouTube as a forum for posting their content should know virtually Australian Copyright laws and the Australian equivalent of 'fair use' exceptions called 'fair dealing' exceptions.

Read on if you're an Australian YouTube user looking to understand the reason YouTube may or may not remove your content, suspend your account or ban you.

Copyright In Commonwealth of australia

Copyright protects people's original work. It ensures that someone'southward original work cannot be shared or used without their permission. Australia'due south copyright laws are contained in the Copyright Human action 1968. It's famously confusing!

Luckily, you lot practise not need to know all of copyright law to produce content on YouTube without breaching it.

The main points yous need to know are:

  • Copyright is automated, you do non need to annals your work for copyright to use.
  • Copyright will apply to any original work.
  • Copyright only expires on original work after a long fourth dimension. Depending on the type of work, copyright elapsing will differ:
    • Broadcasts: year of broadcast + 50 years
    • Films and sound recordings: yr published + 70 years
    • Creative, literary, musical, dramatic works: life of creator + 70 years
  • Copyright protects how y'all nowadays an idea, not the idea itself.

With so many people expressing ideas on YouTube in a unique and original way it is clear why copyright is such a big deal on the platform.

This article is mainly on fair dealing  but if y'all want to learn more about copyright laws we've got you covered as well: .

  • The Divergence Betwixt Trademarks And Copyright
  • Infringing Copyright
  • Registering Copyright
  • Copyright Licencing Agreements
  • Protecting Your Ideas With Copyright

Exceptions To Copyright

Copyright does not use to original content without exceptions. In the Copyright Act 1968, at that place are various exceptions that volition result in an original creator non being able to enforce copyright if someone uses or distributes the content.

'Fair dealing' is one of these exceptions, and the nigh of import for YouTube creators. This is because, in limited circumstances, information technology allows yous to use other people's content for your own videos. A key characteristic of the off-white dealing exception is information technology applies to whatsoever user of copyrighted fabric. This distinguishes it from other exceptions in the Copyright Human action 1968, some of which employ only to specific people or bodies.

This is why the  fair dealing exception is particularly relevant to YouTube users.

Fair Dealing

Fair Dealing allows yous to use someone else's content for five distinct purposes:

  1. criticism and review,
  2. satire or parody,
  3. news,
  4. legal advice
  5. inquiry and study.

 This section will run through the kinds of material that the exceptions tin utilize to and the specifics of each exception purpose.

What Kind Of Copyright Material Practice The Exceptions Apply To?

The start 4 exceptions (research and study, criticism and review, parody and satire and news) only apply to the utilize of certain types of copyright material.

These are:

  • Literary, dramatic, musical and artistic works.
  • Adaptations of the higher up works.
  • Acoustic items,  for instance movies, recordings of audio and other broadcast material.

Enquiry And Study

You are immune to use a reasonable corporeality of copyright material, without permission, for the purposes of research and study. Factors that could be considered in determining if the use is fair are:

  • The purpose of using the copyright material i.e. is the purpose to make a profit?
  • The nature of the material you are using
  • The possibility of paying for the material
  • The effect of using the material i.e. will the textile exist devalued because you are using it?

However, the absolute main consideration is how much of the material you are using. Therefore, you lot should be aware of how much of the material y'all are using equally a proportion of the entire work. For case, if yous apply the majority of the chapters of a book or the majority of a sound recording this probable won't fall nether the fair dealing exception.

Criticism And Review

Y'all are able to use a portion of copyright textile, without permission for the purposes of critiquing or reviewing it.

So if y'all are running a movie or book review channel on YouTube you can show or quote excerpts of the fabric. Even so, you must be clearly engaging in the human activity of critiquing or reviewing the material.

If using copyright material for the purposes of criticism and review y'all must also properly acknowledge the original creators.

Parody Or Satire

Similar to review and critique, parodying or satirical copyright material is also allowed without permission. Again, the use of the fabric needs to stick fairly close to the utilize of the cloth.

A key distinction of parody and satire from comedy is that it makes fun of something in order to make a comment about it or society more broadly. For case, this clip and the aqueduct more broadly are using clips from movies for the purposes of satirising the plot and the movie making industry. This would come up under the fair use exception for parody and satire.

News

If reporting on events that are happening or take happened and using copyright material to practice it, yous do non demand permission from the original creators. However, the utilize of the material cannot be incidental to the reporting of these events. Make sure whatever content you lot are using is necessary for the purpose of reporting on electric current or historic diplomacy!

This exception too requires y'all to requite proper acknowledgement to the original creators of the content.

Legal Communication

This exception is unlikely to employ to creators on YouTube. It applies in protecting legal professionals when giving professional advice from infringing copyright if they are required to apply copyright material in the course of giving advice.

Fair Apply VS Fair Dealing

Fair utilise is similar to the Australian 'off-white dealing'. It is used in other international contexts, such equally in the US. Because of this, fair use is hands confused with 'fair dealing'. Only they differ slightly and Australian law does not actually incorporate any 'fair use' provisions.  Therefore it'due south important to know how this may impact an Australian YouTube creator.

Fair use can mainly be distinguished from fair dealing because it applies more broadly than fair dealing. This is because fair use does non crave the copyright material to be used for ane of the five purposes listed to a higher place (review and critique, enquiry and report, parody and satire, reporting and legal advice).

Instead, fair use requires an examination of why the material is existence used, the nature of the work, the amount of the material used and the effect of employ on the material. Generally, apply will be deemed off-white if information technology is not an attempt to make a profit off someone else's work or using the piece of work would cheapen it.

Off-white dealing is much more strict than this. If the purpose of the work cannot be categorised under the five listed purposes, then it will be in breach of copyright.

Still Unsure…

Fair dealing tin be complicated and tin fifty-fifty feel quite restrictive compared to fair use. Notwithstanding, if the utilise of copyright material is disputed, information technology should be assessed on a case by case basis.

If you've got questions on YouTube legals,  our lawyers  can help you navigate any bug you may be having, or advise you on how y'all can stay compliant with Australian copyright laws.

Get in touch with us at team@sprintlaw.com.au or on 1800 730 617 for free, no-obligations chat.

Joe Casey

Joe is a last twelvemonth law student at the Australian National University. Joe has legal experience in private, government and community legal spaces and is now a Content Writer at Sprintlaw.

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