QUESTION OF THE MONTH: Download from YouTube

QUESTION

Dear CSM:

I work for an educational institution (we receive state funding) and some instructors here want to use Youtube videos for their classes. Some would like to download the Youtube videos, and put them on their websites and or powerpoint presentations.

I know Youtube's terms of service state that you cannot download videos and use them offline (without a direct link to Youtube).

Is there an exception in Fair Use or Copyright laws that allows an educational institution to download copies of Youtube videos and use them separately from the website for instructional purposes?

Thanks for any help,

Aaron

ANSWER

Dear Aaron:

Unfortunately, most U.S. courts that have faced the question in recent years have determined that the "contract" you engage in when you use a site can trump Fair Use rights. So if the YouTube terms of service say you can't download videos and use them offline, there is no "Fair Use" way to get around that.

But let's say you wanted to download videos from a different site that didn't forbid it in the terms of service. You still would have to determine whether or not your intended use of the videos is a fair one. A good place to start would be to take a look at the Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education, to determine if the way in which you and your fellow teachers want to use online videos falls into one or more of the categories of Fair Use outlined there. Remember, how you are using the videos needs to be transformative in some way--it is not enough to say you want to download them because it's easier for you than looking them up on the internet as you need them.

--The Center for Social Media

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