Clients often ask to use copyrighted material in their video projects. But is this OK? What is copyrighted material and what isn’t? How can you find out what is and isn’t copyrighted? Are you allowed to use copyrighted material? No one wants to get busted for copyright infringement, so many shy away from using valuable material simply because they don’t know the standards. If you start with the basics of answering the questions above, you will realize that there is actually a lot of material you could be using for your business video.
What Is Copyrighted Material?
Copyright is a form of protection for authors of original works of authorship. If a creator has original work that is copyrighted, he or she can receive compensation from others to use the work. The author has exclusive legal rights to the works use and distribution for a limited time once it has been copyrighted. As for how long copyright lasts, works published after 1922 but before 1978 are protected for 95 years from the date of publication. For works published after 1977, the copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years, and any material published before 1923 is in the public domain.
What Is and Isn’t Copyrighted?
When it comes to what material is or can be copyrighted, pretty much every creative domain is covered. Categories of what can be copyrighted include:
- Literary works
- Musical works
- Dramatic works
- Choreographic works
- Pictorial, graphic, and sculptural works
- Motion pictures and other audiovisual works
- Sound recordings
- Architectural works.
Because so many materials can be and are copyrighted, many tend to not want to use materials that may or not be copyrighted but could be considered useful for their business. A guaranteed way to know if material is copyrighted is finding the copyright notice. Symbolizations of copyrighted material include: © (the letter C inside a circle), the abbreviation "Copr.", or the word "Copyright" followed by the year of the first publication of the work and the name of the copyright holder. The proper copyright notice for sound recordings or audio works is ℗ (the letter P inside a circle). The phrase “All rights reserved” also assets copyrighted material.
Are You Allowed to Use Copyrighted Material?
Yes – to an extent. People use copyrighted material every day in videos, but you have to be careful with how you’re using the material. The Fair Use Doctrine permits limited use of copyrighted material. Examples of fair use include:
- Parody
- News reporting
- Research
- Teaching
- Commentary and criticism
- Library archives and scholarship
If you’re using copyrighted material in your video to teach your audience something or are using copyrighted work to discuss something that pertains to your business – go for it. Just keep these things in mind (because the courts do):
- Purpose of using the copyrighted material
This includes the reason for using the copyrighted material, and the examples listed above for fair use cover this section.
- Nature of the copyrighted work
This factor focuses on the work itself. There is a difference between reproducing short notes and reproducing a full piece of music. Consider the creative domain and how you’re using it.
- The amount of material taken from the copyrighted work
The less material you take from copyrighted material the better. Something to note is to not take the most memorable aspects of a work. If the portion taken is the “heart” of the work, that can be considered copyright infringement.
- The effect of using the copyrighted work
Copyrighted material can be complicated, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use it. If you do your research and use copyrighted material properly in your video, no harm will be done and it can help you make your point more vividly.
