Regrarding Copyright, can you use Youtube Videos in E-Learning Modules

Hi Katherine,

Trying to navigate the ins and outs of copyright is tricky. There's the legal side of things, which we definitely don't want to make expensive mistakes with. And then there's the ethics side of things: we don't want content creators to feel like we're stealing their content.

Asking the content creator for permission is by far the most consistently safe option. You do need to do the (often time-consuming) task of trying to get in touch with the content creator, but it does fully resolve any ambiguity on if your intended use is allowed or not. The only time that might get more complicated is if someone posts a video to YouTube that they themselves don't hold the copyright to.

Another relatively clean option is to look for videos where the copyright information is included in the description. If someone is using a Creative Commons license for their content and included that information their YouTube upload, you can use the YouTube search filters to show you just those videos. You will still need to check which Creative Commons license the video creator chose, though, as not all allow for commercial use.

When it comes to embedding YouTube videos you don't own or have a license to, though, the rules can get a lot shakier, especially since country-specific copyright laws may apply in addition to YouTube's terms of service. Specific to just YouTube's rules, as of the moment I'm writing this their current Terms of Service has two key things to say about video use:

License to Other Users
"You also grant each other user of the Service a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to access your Content through the Service, and to use that Content, including to reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works, display, and perform it, only as enabled by a feature of the Service (such as video playback or embeds). For clarity, this license does not grant any rights or permissions for a user to make use of your Content independent of the Service."

Permissions and Restrictions
"You may access and use the Service as made available to you, as long as you comply with this Agreement and applicable law. You may view or listen to Content for your personal, non-commercial use. You may also show YouTube videos through the embeddable YouTube player." 

and also

"You are not allowed to: access, reproduce, download, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, alter, modify or otherwise use any part of the Service or any Content except: (a) as expressly authorized by the Service; or (b) with prior written permission from YouTube and, if applicable, the respective rights holders."

I'm not at all an expert in copyright law, but this does seem a bit confusing when it comes to using embedded videos in for-profit courses. Embedding in general is an allowed use by YouTube's standards. But embedding videos in a for-profit course seems like it may or may not count as selling the content. If you don't have a license or written permission to include the video in your course, leaving it out or just hyperlinking to the video on YouTube may be your safest options.