Hi Gordon! Thanks for the valuable info. Question. I am an animator/illustrator. What if one of my characters as a parody in my animated story on my RUclips channel looks identical to a famous cartoon character such as Bart Simpson? Can I still be able to get the video monetized?
Wow. I was looking for this info because I would love to do parodies like SO MANY FULL CHANNELS ON RUclips DO WHO DON'T SEEM TO GET DINGED FOR IT. (Why?) I listened carefully to the differences you mentioned - thank you so much for that - but it sounds like most people are not doing it legally. SO I am going to assume that YT or someone is allowing it, maybe because it's too much of a bother to get into law suits...? But thank you so much for this.
A member of my seniors ukulele group wrote parody lyrics for Queen's "We Will Rock You" and titled it "We Will Uke You." I was planning to make a video of a few of our members acting out scenes related to the ukulele lyrics, with an audio track of us playing ukes and singing. Would that be infringement?
I used a portion of the instrumental for "Let it Go" for a song rewrite. For this, I shifted the pitch down and cropped parts of it out, then sang my own lyrics over it. I understand that this does not make it a parody, but the copyright claim on my video was done by someone else who had simply pitch shifted the original song as well. Is this disputable?
Hi Gordon, Based on your excellent tutorial here, I believe I have created a satirical song that uses the music and melody of a popular Rock song from a popular album from the 60s. I have replaced all of the lyrics to wit - a comical commentary on ethnic food (I do not believe this is a Parody - except that my vocal style and phrasing is at the least- reminiscent of the original Singer, or, at most: at attempt at imitation). My music soundtrack track is based on a Karaoke sound alike track, note for note, which makes it instantly recognizable as to authorship and the original Band. I believe I would need Derivative permission from the Publisher to bring this recording to market (along with a Master License for the Karaoke track). Do you agree?
Hi Gordon, quick question. I am selling a product in the US. The trailer for the product is an animated video. The video doesn't name these movies, but it parodies scenes from cast away (with Tom Hanks), a Beautiful Mind and Gladiator (with Russell Crowe). The character is our own character but he is dressed to mimic the characters from these famous movies if that makes sense. Is this illegal?
I'm trying to make a video where I add guitar lines that are completely of my creation to the song Young Dumb and Broke by Khalid and also do a parody of the music video for that song which is also completely different from it. How would I do that without being copyrighted?
I have a channel where I parody movie scenes. But they said it’s still valid? First they said good news! Now they say it does infringe? Is it ok if i parody whole movies?
Hello Gordon, I'm an artist and i draw everyday. But I'm curious about fair use laws and so I reached out to you. I have dreams about doing a show with original characters. However, I have a question. I know this is very complicated. But I've been wondering of doing Easter eggs/References to other media in my own planned cartoon shows in the way other shows does it aswell, For Example. If i take a "Look Alike" Donald duck, draw him in my Very Own art style. i remove and replace his sailor suit and hat with just regular clothes like a black t-shirt and jeans or so.make his fur color from white to light yellow. Recolor his beak to pink and that look alike characters would be only appearing once. And in that appearance one of my very own characters heavily pokes fun & criticizes the donald duck look alike about his cartoons and shows etc by only mentioning those shows. Another example. Is when one of my character buys a "look alike" Coca Cola from a store. the can would be light pink instead of red and the The letters says "Coconut Cola" instead of "Coca Cola" my character would try The look alike brand and he will spit it out and say that it tastes awful and the brand being bad while poking fun at it. I read commentary & criticize was also considered fair use. So Does my two examples count then? Because how does shows like animaniacs, South park & Family Guy get away with Referencing/Spoofing and poking fun at other Characters like Mickey, Pooh, scooby doo, bugs bunny, food & drinking brands, Celebrities Etc. I'm just wondering myself that. Anyway, Thank you for reading this and I'd like to hear a response from you. Because if that is still not fair use then I'd be rethinking my thoughts about doing references in my show. Have a Good day.
Can I upload a parody song of an orginal song without copyright claim? I re-write the text and it's all me and my piano. I see other youtube channels do it... so do they get copyright claimed? (and also the video is video clips of my family and trips)
Another question. I am not a reviewer or press. I would like to use some cameos of music stars. primarily jazz and blues. I wouldn't think I would be able to get a press kit. oh by the way check out my last video.. I used You tube Audio( non attribute) Called Da Jazz. Then I used Pixelbay App.. all non copyright images. I read the legal info fairly closely.
I am about to start posting music to RUclips. For the most part, I’ll only be posting original content, but I would like to do parody songs every now and then. If I do and I don’t use any of the lyrics that were originally on the track but I do use the beat, will I be opening myself up to a potential law suit? I don’t care about monetizing it because I have less than 500 subs, but I don’t want to end up in some legal battle. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
I'm making a "commercial" that parody's an oil company. I am using about ten seconds of their propaganda footage as well as their logo. The content of the "commercial" makes it very clear that I am NOT that specific company. Is this legal for me to do?
I wrote some lyrics. They were inspired by and follow along with a certain song. My lyrics.... but the music is the part i need to make my song. So how do i legally use the base music of a popular song without infringing? Wierd al has already written a parody of the same song and i wish to self produce my own recording of my version, as an artist.
@Gordon Firemark so are you saying im clear to create what im creating because its my original work at the core or that its not protected as a parody under fairuse and is subject to no legal protection?
I want to make a parody of the song (Cut It - O.T. Genasis). In this parody, I would simply be "rapping" over the original, but with modified lyrics to focus on my genre which is billiards as opposed to drugs which the song is originally about. I imagine that is a copyright violation based on how you responded to others questions. If I am wrong, please correct me. However, if I were to recreate all original backing tracks (original beat, original piano, original vocals...etc), would this still be a copyright violation, even though this is all my own work. If it is still a copyright violation, is there a reasonable and legal means to contact the copyright holder and request permission to do such a cover? Thanks for any help.
World of Pool and Billiards merely changing the lyrics does not make it a parody...but just a derivative work, and is copyright infringement, unless you get permission. Try contacting the publisher of the song for permission.
I made a parody video of "Ocean Man" and I changed the lyrics. I also used my own video. I didn't make fun of the song in a direct way. Would I be able to take the video back and file a dispute? I do have the video public and don't know how to deal with legal stuff because I'm only 13.
it's possible that your video was taken down automatically by youtube under its contentID system. If so, the copyright owner may not even know about it... You *could* claim it's a fair use and file a counternotification... and then If the copyright owner disagrees with your fair use argument, they can then sue you... Which is probably not something you want to deal with. Based on what you're saying, It's not really a parody. You're copying someone else's song without permission. That's copyright infringement.
Hello, thank you for the video. I was wondering if you could give me some advice. My friend wrote a parody of “Torn” that is about the Coronovirus. She sang it live, at a small function in Hong Kong but it was recorded, posted and then went viral. We decided to create a music video for her parody and are hoping to post it on all social media channels. My question is..I am looking into what we need to do to make sure we avoid all legal issues. I am planning to reach out to the Music Label that released Natalie Imbriglia’s version but I don’t know what other steps I need to take. We don’t have a lot of money to put into this. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you :)
IF your adaptation is TRULY a parody, you probably don't need permission, but merely changing lyrics isn't usually enough to make it a parody. If not a true parody, then you'll need permission from the music publisher of the song (not the record label). You might need help from a lawyer or music licensing expert to help with this.
@@gfiremark I agree with that. But how would I even get started with such assistance from a licensing expert and or entertainment lawyer to bring my parody or parodies to fruition and legally? For now, my parodies are unpublished and have very limited audience such as family and close friends. What about performing the parodies with my own instruments rather than using the original recorded song that it is based on?
@@TheSoleProprietor I even with your own instruments, you’re still copying the composition, music, etc. To get help, call a lawyer or licensing company. Or, try contacting the music publishers directly
I run a character entertainment business where we dress up as superheroes, princesses etc. We use knock off names like Spider Hero instead of Spiderman to avoid getting on Disney's radar. One of our competitors uses the direct names but adds parody to the end example "Spiderman Parody". They don't do performances that make fun of the characters and the company is a large business with several franchises throughout the US. Based on your breakdown of parody all I can guess is that they have either gotten lucky or Disney has decided to ignore them, not really sure. Disney has sued these businesses in the past, usually ones with bad reviews/costumes, maybe it comes down to whether they think the business is doing a good job or not. I just need to decide if it would be worthwhile to do the same thing as them. Currently, I'm missing out on some of the SEO benefits they have by using the actual character name on their site. In your opinion is it even worth adding parody at the end?
@@thunderboo146 I never added parody, I just relied on keywords like superhero to get customers there. That and people who review us on Yelp referred to us by the actual hero names so I think that helped also.
Hi sir I want to create a parody lady gaga how it became not a strike for the youtube I will change the mtv but the song rain on me What will i do be more on parody to be not a copyright
I made a video for school in which I changed the lyrics to a kanye song.... i kept the video unlisted and of course not monetized... *Was only viewed by my class* The video got copyrighted. Will I have the legal right to get the video back? Most of the video doesn't mention Kanye... but there is a good 5 seconds in which we made fun of him..... Sorry for the long question....
Wendy Algorta no. You video infringes the copyright in the original song, BECAUSE you changed lyrics without permission AND because you used it at all without permission. So, RUclips’s automatic contentID system is probably responsible for flagging it for takedown. But, if you’re pretty certain your video IS a qualifying fair use parody, you might be successful issuing a DMCA “counternotice” to get it restored. But there’s a risk: if the copyright owner disagrees about it being fair use, they could sue you in Federal Court.
I have a question that one of you might be able to answer. I made a LEGO brick film set in a video game. I can use the video because its a parody and I've given credit to LEGO and the game company, but how do I protect my stop motion video from being stolen
So... IF I sing or say " I feel ugly...oh so ugly " ... parodied in the same tune and rhythm of " I feel pretty ...oh so pretty" I would be infringing on the copyright law and subject to a lawsuit ... can I write a full parody poem - not sung- following the same and publish it in a poetry book even saying "Parodied from I feel pretty" ????????????????????? without a legal battle?
+Gordon Firemark I think you need to summarise the stodgy law books in a way that people understand. Anyone can read the ever-changing and potentially unreliable Wikipedia but only you - the legal professional - can understand and communicate to the general public, the complicated details of the law books!
question. so lets say i would like to make a parody of an episode of a show. and im just doing things they do usually on the show. the intro is identical. same words, same mannerisms. the concept is of course the same because im doing a parody. could they sue me?
Basically you have to be a small fry or barely use the original. That means you have to change the melodies of the music, change the characters in a blatant mockery, & you have to revere the original work by not leaning too heavily on the original brand. Thats to say you need to change the logo just like how different companies & directors will re-brand a super hero with a different logo etc rather than cookie cut copy the last company/director who had the rights to that character. Since you didnt purchase the rights, you need to make clear that you are not planning on banking off someone else's idea otherwise you will need their permission & the "rights" to do as you please. However, even when using minimal things of the original character, you need to beware trying to bank off slogans, brand names, & theme songs/anthems. This is why most parody tries to go the bootleg route of giving you a bootleg version of the character rather than simply giving the whole character in a bootleg situation. All in all, no matter what you do, you still live in the real world where people sue over anything so anybody can be sued...what you want though is to avoid provoking the lawsuit & avoid doing anything by which you lose the lawsuit or worst, lose bad & have to go to jail or pay huge fines. So the moral is dont try to bank off someone's idea unless you plan on making it super bootleg as has been done for decades. However, if you really need the characters to be the actual trademark character then you should make sure the parody factor is high & the brand factor is extremely bootleg to the point of no one thinking for a moment that you have the rights to bank off the brand. Its all about money...so with that said, your parody is more likely to survive if its not making money in any way, not commercialized as though a brand of its own or aligned with the original brand, & it doesnt mock the brand in such a way that it costs money otherwise there goes the incentive to shut you down. Criticism is ok but only when done in certain ways that align with court cases of the past(which is sadly how the legal system works). Keep in mind the same laws that seem to suck though are there to protect your original work the same way should some wise guy try to bank off of your success.
I make merch like clothing for a small twitch/youtube channel and i took the Nintendo logo and basically transformed it into the nintendo logo but it says our channel/merch name. Would i get sued for publishing and then possible selling a couple? The replacement font is just some free commercial use font i found on "1001font.com". I would be extremely pissed if i was sued for having this sold maybe once or twice and i don't have the money to pay for lawyers or anything because im 16. My main question is "Is this classified as a parody of the NINTENDO brand or am i infringing?". Sorry for the long question.
FaZe C0pped not a parody. If it’s their distinctive design, It’s flat out trademark infringement. Don’t do it. Odds are, they’ll send a cease-and-Desist demand before suing, but save yourself the trouble... do something original.
@@gfiremark i have, i just thought it would be kind of interesting to do something kinda funny. Alright well thanks for helping, im glad I didnt screw up. Ill just go back to making other stuff. THANKS!
I want to start making YTPs of the presidential debates.~ Where I alter the original content making it funny. Could I be sued for this? Also too what if I want to songify The President? Where I use the instrumental and lyrics to a song but having edited clips on Donald Trump singing it?
Great video! I want to make a parody of Peppa Pig, completely ripping off the art style but only showing it on RUclips. If I make a disclaimer at the start of each episode that this is clearly a parody of Peppa pig and that I do not own any rights to Peppa Pig or it's content, can I put this on RUclips and have ads running on it? Thanks a lot for the v helpful video!
@Gordon Firemark Thanks so much for letting me know! If I put the first video up, is the worst they can do is take the video down? They wouldn't sue me straight away right?
@@firefox3770 Eyy! A parodist of peppa pig! Same here. Don't worry dude. There are lot of parodies on peppa pig. Some are even 18+. And none of them ever got taken down. SO JUST CHILL and let ur creative mind do the work.
Simple it never infringes but I'm pretty sure RUclips will try to tell people that it does because look how many movies have directly ripped off other movies that were comedies scary movies with a direct rip-off of the Scream movies in comedy if it matter there be a lot of movies that would be sued
I just want to know if I do a spoof video where I imitate somebody can and I get a copyright strike for using their name in the title for example “Donald Trump spoof”..
NO! People are not bound by copyright law. If you use video or audio created by someone else, you could get a copyright strike, but as long as you comment or criticize it, it falls under fair use. Even if RUclips automatically blocks it, you'll probably have luck when you ask for a human review.
Hmmm, my twitch name is Jurassic_pole. Its close to jurassic park, i was wondering if this would get my in trouble later. Its simple, i like dinosaurs, im a pole dancer. Its where my name comes from. They cant copyright the word jurassic right? so....i was wondering about this
So I make a video, say, changing the lyrics to the new Taylor Swift song “You Need to Calm Down” and write a ‘parody’ titled “Why Did I Come Down” about coming home from college. The song itself has nothing to do with the original song, but the video will have clips that recreate original clips from the video but in a funny way-however still being more related to the actual topic of my parody version. What’s the copyright situation on that?
Yeah, I’ve been a little fuzzy on the actual meaning of “parody” in this sense. So in that case..... how exactly does the process of “getting permission” come about???
What if I make a movie and video game that contains copyrighted characters, items, and objects, but don’t use any actual content from the respected owners, and give credit to what made the characters, is it a parody, and if not or if it is, is it allowed? Also I’m asking because I have a game (that’s a roleplay and is not a video game yet) me and my friends made at school that is a CROSSOVER. And the movie would be the same story of the game at my school. Would I have to make the movie a parody of the game at school, is it already a parody, and would I have to make the video or whatever private? The school game is a game we used to play at recess, but we’re in middle school, so we don’t have recess, so we play it at gym or running club. Also I share this game with people I meet and wish to expand it, and even make a RUclips channel on it. Is this all ok? And if some or all things are not, please share what things are not ok and why, so I can change it.
Death Song Gaming the characters, items and objects ARE content. So, you’ll need permission. Unless you’re creating a true parody. This video explains what parody means. It sounds like a cool game...
Gordon Firemark I could also make it a comedy, right? I heard on a fair use animation that comedy is ok too. It seemed like that at least. Also by movie I mean not like a theater, at least my version of the movie. Does this change anything? Is making the movie only partly comedy, but still making it a comedy ok too?
Gordon Firemark and how can I only use a small part of the character/object. And is it ok if I add more to a character or thing or/and less to a character or thing or/and change things up, even just a bit, ok for reworking and using the things in a totally new way so it follows fair use?
I want to make a parody song about a video game I play using, Take me home country roads, as the background music. Are you saying I’m not allowed to do this because it’s not making fun of the original song. I’m going to be singing about the video game.
Would it be illegal to monetize a parody video where I’m dressed as a copy-written character? For example, doing a funny “day in the life” video dressed as Batman where he cooks breakfast, takes kids to school, goes to the dentist, etc?
I would like to publish a video that I filmed. I was wanting to learn Kentucky Moon won't you keep on shining..I stated to play along with Bill Monroe..It was bluegrass.. It sounded fine.. Then a more modern version came over.. it was Albert Lee playing and I think John Fogerty. Singing. I think my phone had switched to the next song.As the video starts the new song, you see a confused me, then I start playing it Chet Atkins style with Lester Flatt blue Grass runs.. it sounds great. I think this video would be really cool on my channel. This is not parody..it's just funny. I had thought of doing snippets but I don't think that would cover it.
Regrettably, I don't think I can give a definitive answer to your question. I'd have to see the video you made. It's not clear to me that it'd be a parody. More likely, a Court would deem it a cover version of the song(s) in question.
Then all the people who get cease-and-desist letters from Nintendo her making parodies can simply fix it by saying it's a parody so I just don't get why they're not doing that simple fix SML should do that
The internet (in its infinite wisdom) says that Weird Al doesn't need permission to do his parodies, but according to this video if you change the subject you still need permission. So which is it?
He doesn't need permission because of Fair Use. (my explainer at firemark.com/fairuse). It's not just changing the subject. It's about what the TARGET of the parody is. But, you may be interested to know that weird Al gets permission most of the time, anyway.
No... what I'm saying is that if you're going to use other people's property, its best to get permission, SO YOU DON'T need to involve lawyers. Relying on Parody and fair-use is risky and can be very expensive.
In my experience on RUclips, if the original copyright owner doesn't like your parody (especially if it conflicts with their political views) they will have it taken down. Period.
@@gfiremark Hi. Yes, I have sent out two counter notifications yesterday (one for each video takedown and strike.) I had a big video with 1.2 million views called "Kamla's' a Big Fat Liar". It was a Doors parody of "Light My Fire". I think I used too many seconds of footage from the Ed Sullivan Show of the Doors. But, in the past I would get a warning. The video just got taken down and strike added. Now I have two strikes. I'm hoping one of those counts notifications are successful. My channel is in trouble and I think it's because I'm conservative.
@@gfiremark I know that's how you define it in your video but that is not how it's defined everywhere else I go. Weird Al Yankovich made parodies for 35 years and he wasn't mocking or making fun of the original songs--he was "having fun" with them, but he wasn't mocking them. Where did you get that definition if I might ask?
@briancoyne6700 weird Al gets permission. I’m not making this stuff up…The LAW defines parody in the way I’ve paraphrased. Read the 2 Live Crew Pretty Woman case for a deeper dive. scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16686162998040575773
@@darkmoon4135 Yes. There are limits. First, it must actually BE a parody, and not merely a funny or satirical presentation. Second, you may take only that amount of the original work that is required to "conjure up" the original in the minds of the consumers of the parody.
Gordon Firemark Yes. Some are as simple as silly overdubs, while others are full on derivative works. If, for example, someone takes a movie trailer and alters the dialogue in a way that pokes fun at the movie, that’s presumably parody and thus free speech?
I have a song that makes fun of social justice warriors and what they want like guys in the girls bathroom etc and it's done to the melody of a famous song. I'm not making fun of the song writer in any way however she did get made fun of on south park in the same exact context so it can definitely be seen in that way God I think I just answered my question lol 🤣
I am not even sure if what I am planning to do is a parody or a satire. I am going to publish my own project and then use a friend that is a great impersonator of George Bush the son to make in fun ways comments of my work as if president Bush saying that. The actual words will be original - nothing that president Bush ever said. It will be obvious that it is a comedy and does not present President Bush real thoughts or believes. Does it make a difference if I present his comments as President Bush (everybody will know he is not) or just leave his name out and let the audience associate him as President Bush?
Is making a channel using someone's face and artists name harassing them with it and posting such things as edits of the person they are pretending to be and there address and doing illegal things under the account called parody because the people doing it to our artists not only think it's a joke and not illegal they think it's parody by impersonation
This is a very fact-specific question, and Freedom of Speech plays a strong role in such situations. Generally, one doesn't have a right to stop others from using their name, image or likeness, unless the use is commercial (i.e., an Ad) in nature. But it's worth consulting a lawyer who'll do the investigation and research into the law, to find other possible approaches to shutting down those who abuse things.
This guy basically said you can be sued anyway.
remember parody doesn't exist in todays world :)
Hi Gordon! Thanks for the valuable info. Question. I am an animator/illustrator. What if one of my characters as a parody in my animated story on my RUclips channel looks identical to a famous cartoon character such as Bart Simpson? Can I still be able to get the video monetized?
Hello Sir, I am planning to start a New Record Label but I do not know how to register it in Canada so I can legally start releasing songs!
Wow. I was looking for this info because I would love to do parodies like SO MANY FULL CHANNELS ON RUclips DO WHO DON'T SEEM TO GET DINGED FOR IT. (Why?) I listened carefully to the differences you mentioned - thank you so much for that - but it sounds like most people are not doing it legally. SO I am going to assume that YT or someone is allowing it, maybe because it's too much of a bother to get into law suits...? But thank you so much for this.
A member of my seniors ukulele group wrote parody lyrics for Queen's "We Will Rock You" and titled it "We Will Uke You." I was planning to make a video of a few of our members acting out scenes related to the ukulele lyrics, with an audio track of us playing ukes and singing. Would that be infringement?
Wow, you are awesome to publish this with such clear description
I used a portion of the instrumental for "Let it Go" for a song rewrite. For this, I shifted the pitch down and cropped parts of it out, then sang my own lyrics over it. I understand that this does not make it a parody, but the copyright claim on my video was done by someone else who had simply pitch shifted the original song as well. Is this disputable?
How about doing impressions and putting them up on RUclips?
Thank you very much for this very informative video 🙏☺️🤝
Hi Gordon, Based on your excellent tutorial here, I believe I have created a satirical song that uses the music and melody of a popular Rock song from a popular album from the 60s. I have replaced all of the lyrics to wit - a comical commentary on ethnic food (I do not believe this is a Parody - except that my vocal style and phrasing is at the least- reminiscent of the original Singer, or, at most: at attempt at imitation). My music soundtrack track is based on a Karaoke sound alike track, note for note, which makes it instantly recognizable as to authorship and the original Band. I believe I would need Derivative permission from the Publisher to bring this recording to market (along with a Master License for the Karaoke track). Do you agree?
Hi Gordon, quick question. I am selling a product in the US. The trailer for the product is an animated video. The video doesn't name these movies, but it parodies scenes from cast away (with Tom Hanks), a Beautiful Mind and Gladiator (with Russell Crowe). The character is our own character but he is dressed to mimic the characters from these famous movies if that makes sense. Is this illegal?
I'm trying to make a video where I add guitar lines that are completely of my creation to the song Young Dumb and Broke by Khalid and also do a parody of the music video for that song which is also completely different from it. How would I do that without being copyrighted?
I have a channel where I parody movie scenes. But they said it’s still valid? First they said good news! Now they say it does infringe? Is it ok if i parody whole movies?
Hello Gordon, I'm an artist and i draw everyday. But I'm curious about fair use laws and so I reached out to you. I have dreams about doing a show with original characters. However, I have a question. I know this is very complicated. But I've been wondering of doing Easter eggs/References to other media in my own planned cartoon shows in the way other shows does it aswell, For Example. If i take a "Look Alike" Donald duck, draw him in my Very Own art style. i remove and replace his sailor suit and hat with just regular clothes like a black t-shirt and jeans or so.make his fur color from white to light yellow. Recolor his beak to pink and that look alike characters would be only appearing once. And in that appearance one of my very own characters heavily pokes fun & criticizes the donald duck look alike about his cartoons and shows etc by only mentioning those shows. Another example. Is when one of my character buys a "look alike" Coca Cola from a store. the can would be light pink instead of red and the The letters says "Coconut Cola" instead of "Coca Cola" my character would try The look alike brand and he will spit it out and say that it tastes awful and the brand being bad while poking fun at it. I read commentary & criticize was also considered fair use. So Does my two examples count then? Because how does shows like animaniacs, South park & Family Guy get away with Referencing/Spoofing and poking fun at other Characters like Mickey, Pooh, scooby doo, bugs bunny, food & drinking brands, Celebrities Etc. I'm just wondering myself that. Anyway, Thank you for reading this and I'd like to hear a response from you. Because if that is still not fair use then I'd be rethinking my thoughts about doing references in my show. Have a Good day.
i have a parody songs,do i have a chance to monetized by disputing
Does taking very small portion of a movie (1-3 minutes) and teach students English (phrases,words,..) to earn money, a copyright infringement?
Firemark is a badass last name
Can I upload a parody song of an orginal song without copyright claim? I re-write the text and it's all me and my piano. I see other youtube channels do it... so do they get copyright claimed? (and also the video is video clips of my family and trips)
Only if it's a TRUE parody. (See my videos on Parody)... it's not as clear cut as just saying it's a parody.
Another question. I am not a reviewer or press. I would like to use some cameos of music stars. primarily jazz and blues. I wouldn't think I would be able to get a press kit. oh by the way check out my last video.. I used You tube Audio( non attribute) Called Da Jazz. Then I used Pixelbay App.. all non copyright images. I read the legal info fairly closely.
I am about to start posting music to RUclips. For the most part, I’ll only be posting original content, but I would like to do parody songs every now and then. If I do and I don’t use any of the lyrics that were originally on the track but I do use the beat, will I be opening myself up to a potential law suit? I don’t care about monetizing it because I have less than 500 subs, but I don’t want to end up in some legal battle. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
I'm making a "commercial" that parody's an oil company. I am using about ten seconds of their propaganda footage as well as their logo. The content of the "commercial" makes it very clear that I am NOT that specific company. Is this legal for me to do?
I wrote some lyrics. They were inspired by and follow along with a certain song. My lyrics.... but the music is the part i need to make my song. So how do i legally use the base music of a popular song without infringing? Wierd al has already written a parody of the same song and i wish to self produce my own recording of my version, as an artist.
@Gordon Firemark so are you saying im clear to create what im creating because its my original work at the core or that its not protected as a parody under fairuse and is subject to no legal protection?
Can I use a character from a tv show on a shirt if i dont label the characters name
I want to make a parody of the song (Cut It - O.T. Genasis). In this parody, I would simply be "rapping" over the original, but with modified lyrics to focus on my genre which is billiards as opposed to drugs which the song is originally about. I imagine that is a copyright violation based on how you responded to others questions. If I am wrong, please correct me. However, if I were to recreate all original backing tracks (original beat, original piano, original vocals...etc), would this still be a copyright violation, even though this is all my own work. If it is still a copyright violation, is there a reasonable and legal means to contact the copyright holder and request permission to do such a cover? Thanks for any help.
World of Pool and Billiards merely changing the lyrics does not make it a parody...but just a derivative work, and is copyright infringement, unless you get permission. Try contacting the publisher of the song for permission.
@@gfiremark Is it more expensive to get permission or to get sued? I would think it would be the latter.
@@TheSoleProprietor lawsuit is far more expensive.
I made a parody video of "Ocean Man" and I changed the lyrics. I also used my own video. I didn't make fun of the song in a direct way. Would I be able to take the video back and file a dispute? I do have the video public and don't know how to deal with legal stuff because I'm only 13.
it's possible that your video was taken down automatically by youtube under its contentID system. If so, the copyright owner may not even know about it... You *could* claim it's a fair use and file a counternotification... and then If the copyright owner disagrees with your fair use argument, they can then sue you... Which is probably not something you want to deal with.
Based on what you're saying, It's not really a parody. You're copying someone else's song without permission. That's copyright infringement.
Gordon Firemark Ok thanks. The video didn't get taken down, but they will monetize it.
Hello, thank you for the video. I was wondering if you could give me some advice. My friend wrote a parody of “Torn” that is about the Coronovirus. She sang it live, at a small function in Hong Kong but it was recorded, posted and then went viral. We decided to create a music video for her parody and are hoping to post it on all social media channels. My question is..I am looking into what we need to do to make sure we avoid all legal issues. I am planning to reach out to the Music Label that released Natalie Imbriglia’s version but I don’t know what other steps I need to take. We don’t have a lot of money to put into this. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you :)
IF your adaptation is TRULY a parody, you probably don't need permission, but merely changing lyrics isn't usually enough to make it a parody. If not a true parody, then you'll need permission from the music publisher of the song (not the record label). You might need help from a lawyer or music licensing expert to help with this.
@@gfiremark I agree with that. But how would I even get started with such assistance from a licensing expert and or entertainment lawyer to bring my parody or parodies to fruition and legally? For now, my parodies are unpublished and have very limited audience such as family and close friends. What about performing the parodies with my own instruments rather than using the original recorded song that it is based on?
@@TheSoleProprietor I even with your own instruments, you’re still copying the composition, music, etc.
To get help, call a lawyer or licensing company. Or, try contacting the music publishers directly
So… me and some friends are making a kingdom hearts musical. It’s non profit and a parody. Can we do it?
Thank you so much I've been looking for this
I run a character entertainment business where we dress up as superheroes, princesses etc. We use knock off names like Spider Hero instead of Spiderman to avoid getting on Disney's radar. One of our competitors uses the direct names but adds parody to the end example "Spiderman Parody". They don't do performances that make fun of the characters and the company is a large business with several franchises throughout the US. Based on your breakdown of parody all I can guess is that they have either gotten lucky or Disney has decided to ignore them, not really sure.
Disney has sued these businesses in the past, usually ones with bad reviews/costumes, maybe it comes down to whether they think the business is doing a good job or not.
I just need to decide if it would be worthwhile to do the same thing as them. Currently, I'm missing out on some of the SEO benefits they have by using the actual character name on their site. In your opinion is it even worth adding parody at the end?
Did it work out for you?
@@thunderboo146 I never added parody, I just relied on keywords like superhero to get customers there. That and people who review us on Yelp referred to us by the actual hero names so I think that helped also.
@@freakinsweetdude is your business going well?
@@freakinsweetdude I’m 15 and thinking of starting a clothing line. Do you think i should of focus on other things?
Hi sir I want to create a parody lady gaga how it became not a strike for the youtube
I will change the mtv but the song rain on me
What will i do be more on parody to be not a copyright
I made a video for school in which I changed the lyrics to a kanye song.... i kept the video unlisted and of course not monetized... *Was only viewed by my class* The video got copyrighted. Will I have the legal right to get the video back? Most of the video doesn't mention Kanye... but there is a good 5 seconds in which we made fun of him..... Sorry for the long question....
Wendy Algorta no. You video infringes the copyright in the original song, BECAUSE you changed lyrics without permission AND because you used it at all without permission. So, RUclips’s automatic contentID system is probably responsible for flagging it for takedown.
But, if you’re pretty certain your video IS a qualifying fair use parody, you might be successful issuing a DMCA “counternotice” to get it restored. But there’s a risk: if the copyright owner disagrees about it being fair use, they could sue you in Federal Court.
You COULD try issuing a counter notice... But the risk is that they copyright owner sues you.
I have a question that one of you might be able to answer. I made a LEGO brick film set in a video game. I can use the video because its a parody and I've given credit to LEGO and the game company, but how do I protect my stop motion video from being stolen
great. a thief not wanting to be thiefed.
@@lolguy-x9n look up parodies you troll
So... IF I sing or say " I feel ugly...oh so ugly " ... parodied in the same tune and rhythm of " I feel pretty ...oh so pretty" I would be infringing on the copyright law and subject to a lawsuit ... can I write a full parody poem - not sung- following the same and publish it in a poetry book even saying "Parodied from I feel pretty" ????????????????????? without a legal battle?
How did artists like Kaws and Matt Gondek sell their works of art and avoid violating copy infringement laws early in there careers?
Thx alot. Qualitativ and simple.
Thanks for the video, however don't you have a series of leather-bound law books to quote from, and not just Wikipedia?
Maddy G sure... would you rather I read from stodgy law books, or put things in language that's easily understood and accessible to laypeople?
+Gordon Firemark I think you need to summarise the stodgy law books in a way that people understand. Anyone can read the ever-changing and potentially unreliable Wikipedia but only you - the legal professional - can understand and communicate to the general public, the complicated details of the law books!
Hey asshole, go talk to and pay an attorney if you don’t think this free advice is helpful enough.
question. so lets say i would like to make a parody of an episode of a show. and im just doing things they do usually on the show. the intro is identical. same words, same mannerisms. the concept is of course the same because im doing a parody. could they sue me?
I would like to know this also. Quarantine has inspired some creativity.
@@ashleykauk2780 frrr
Basically you have to be a small fry or barely use the original. That means you have to change the melodies of the music, change the characters in a blatant mockery, & you have to revere the original work by not leaning too heavily on the original brand.
Thats to say you need to change the logo just like how different companies & directors will re-brand a super hero with a different logo etc rather than cookie cut copy the last company/director who had the rights to that character.
Since you didnt purchase the rights, you need to make clear that you are not planning on banking off someone else's idea otherwise you will need their permission & the "rights" to do as you please.
However, even when using minimal things of the original character, you need to beware trying to bank off slogans, brand names, & theme songs/anthems. This is why most parody tries to go the bootleg route of giving you a bootleg version of the character rather than simply giving the whole character in a bootleg situation.
All in all, no matter what you do, you still live in the real world where people sue over anything so anybody can be sued...what you want though is to avoid provoking the lawsuit & avoid doing anything by which you lose the lawsuit or worst, lose bad & have to go to jail or pay huge fines.
So the moral is dont try to bank off someone's idea unless you plan on making it super bootleg as has been done for decades. However, if you really need the characters to be the actual trademark character then you should make sure the parody factor is high & the brand factor is extremely bootleg to the point of no one thinking for a moment that you have the rights to bank off the brand.
Its all about money...so with that said, your parody is more likely to survive if its not making money in any way, not commercialized as though a brand of its own or aligned with the original brand, & it doesnt mock the brand in such a way that it costs money otherwise there goes the incentive to shut you down.
Criticism is ok but only when done in certain ways that align with court cases of the past(which is sadly how the legal system works). Keep in mind the same laws that seem to suck though are there to protect your original work the same way should some wise guy try to bank off of your success.
I make merch like clothing for a small twitch/youtube channel and i took the Nintendo logo and basically transformed it into the nintendo logo but it says our channel/merch name. Would i get sued for publishing and then possible selling a couple? The replacement font is just some free commercial use font i found on "1001font.com". I would be extremely pissed if i was sued for having this sold maybe once or twice and i don't have the money to pay for lawyers or anything because im 16. My main question is "Is this classified as a parody of the NINTENDO brand or am i infringing?". Sorry for the long question.
FaZe C0pped not a parody. If it’s their distinctive design, It’s flat out trademark infringement. Don’t do it. Odds are, they’ll send a cease-and-Desist demand before suing, but save yourself the trouble... do something original.
@@gfiremark i have, i just thought it would be kind of interesting to do something kinda funny. Alright well thanks for helping, im glad I didnt screw up. Ill just go back to making other stuff. THANKS!
I want to start making YTPs of the presidential debates.~ Where I alter the original content making it funny. Could I be sued for this? Also too what if I want to songify The President? Where I use the instrumental and lyrics to a song but having edited clips on Donald Trump singing it?
Great video! I want to make a parody of Peppa Pig, completely ripping off the art style but only showing it on RUclips. If I make a disclaimer at the start of each episode that this is clearly a parody of Peppa pig and that I do not own any rights to Peppa Pig or it's content, can I put this on RUclips and have ads running on it? Thanks a lot for the v helpful video!
@Gordon Firemark Thanks so much for letting me know! If I put the first video up, is the worst they can do is take the video down? They wouldn't sue me straight away right?
@@firefox3770 Eyy! A parodist of peppa pig! Same here. Don't worry dude. There are lot of parodies on peppa pig. Some are even 18+. And none of them ever got taken down. SO JUST CHILL and let ur creative mind do the work.
@@tuplusunil1861 ay thanks a lot bro, i was thinking about that since there r tons out there haha
@@firefox3770 XD
Simple it never infringes but I'm pretty sure RUclips will try to tell people that it does because look how many movies have directly ripped off other movies that were comedies scary movies with a direct rip-off of the Scream movies in comedy if it matter there be a lot of movies that would be sued
I just want to know if I do a spoof video where I imitate somebody can and I get a copyright strike for using their name in the title for example “Donald Trump spoof”..
NO! People are not bound by copyright law. If you use video or audio created by someone else, you could get a copyright strike, but as long as you comment or criticize it, it falls under fair use. Even if RUclips automatically blocks it, you'll probably have luck when you ask for a human review.
Hmmm, my twitch name is Jurassic_pole. Its close to jurassic park, i was wondering if this would get my in trouble later. Its simple, i like dinosaurs, im a pole dancer. Its where my name comes from. They cant copyright the word jurassic right? so....i was wondering about this
So I make a video, say, changing the lyrics to the new Taylor Swift song “You Need to Calm Down” and write a ‘parody’ titled “Why Did I Come Down” about coming home from college. The song itself has nothing to do with the original song, but the video will have clips that recreate original clips from the video but in a funny way-however still being more related to the actual topic of my parody version. What’s the copyright situation on that?
Haleigh Speaks that doesn’t really sound like a parody at all. It’s just a plain derivative work. You’ll need permission...
Yeah, I’ve been a little fuzzy on the actual meaning of “parody” in this sense. So in that case..... how exactly does the process of “getting permission” come about???
Haleigh Speaks ruclips.net/video/Mlk3y9Ljzn0/видео.html
ruclips.net/video/0kxcL-EM_Vk/видео.html
What if I make a movie and video game that contains copyrighted characters, items, and objects, but don’t use any actual content from the respected owners, and give credit to what made the characters, is it a parody, and if not or if it is, is it allowed? Also I’m asking because I have a game (that’s a roleplay and is not a video game yet) me and my friends made at school that is a CROSSOVER. And the movie would be the same story of the game at my school. Would I have to make the movie a parody of the game at school, is it already a parody, and would I have to make the video or whatever private? The school game is a game we used to play at recess, but we’re in middle school, so we don’t have recess, so we play it at gym or running club. Also I share this game with people I meet and wish to expand it, and even make a RUclips channel on it. Is this all ok? And if some or all things are not, please share what things are not ok and why, so I can change it.
Death Song Gaming the characters, items and objects ARE content. So, you’ll need permission. Unless you’re creating a true parody. This video explains what parody means.
It sounds like a cool game...
Gordon Firemark thanks
Gordon Firemark I could also make it a comedy, right? I heard on a fair use animation that comedy is ok too. It seemed like that at least. Also by movie I mean not like a theater, at least my version of the movie. Does this change anything? Is making the movie only partly comedy, but still making it a comedy ok too?
Gordon Firemark and how can I only use a small part of the character/object. And is it ok if I add more to a character or thing or/and less to a character or thing or/and change things up, even just a bit, ok for reworking and using the things in a totally new way so it follows fair use?
I want to make a parody song about a video game I play using, Take me home country roads, as the background music. Are you saying I’m not allowed to do this because it’s not making fun of the original song. I’m going to be singing about the video game.
Staszoo right. Merely changing the lyrics of a song is not a parody of the song. You’ll likely need permission from the music publisher.
Would it be illegal to monetize a parody video where I’m dressed as a copy-written character? For example, doing a funny “day in the life” video dressed as Batman where he cooks breakfast, takes kids to school, goes to the dentist, etc?
depends whether it's really a parody...
Is this information still accurate?
Yes
I would like to publish a video that I filmed. I was wanting to learn Kentucky Moon won't you keep on shining..I stated to play along with
Bill Monroe..It was bluegrass.. It sounded fine.. Then a more modern version came over.. it was
Albert Lee playing and I think John Fogerty. Singing. I think my phone had switched to the next song.As the video starts the new song, you see a confused me, then I start playing it Chet Atkins style with Lester Flatt blue Grass runs.. it sounds great. I think this video would be really cool on my channel. This is not parody..it's just funny. I had thought of doing snippets but I don't think that would cover it.
Regrettably, I don't think I can give a definitive answer to your question. I'd have to see the video you made. It's not clear to me that it'd be a parody. More likely, a Court would deem it a cover version of the song(s) in question.
If I want to basically be a weird Al...I want to spoof popular songs and music videos on RUclips...I'm not sure if I'm allowed to?
Gordon Firemark thanks! ..if I spoof a song/vid but not monetize it...would I still need a lawyer?
Can I use Mickey mouse like family guy dose?
Oops not whole movies but scenes?
Then all the people who get cease-and-desist letters from Nintendo her making parodies can simply fix it by saying it's a parody so I just don't get why they're not doing that simple fix SML should do that
So this is why captian sparkles got sued like 10 years ago for his revenge video and 7 for his tnt video
yeah, you are probably right. I guess it will stay with me for right now. Thanks anyways.
I do remakes of old songs all the time. if done correctly I am the next weird al in hiphop form. how can we have a conversation? thanks
reach out to me via dm or thru my website firemark.com
Is this dude the same dude who does the pawn shop show?
Um, no!
How much would you charge me to look at 6 original artworks in parody that I pland to put on t-shirts and sell to let me know if I should or not? 🙂
Feel free to schedule a free consultation on my website at firemark.com and we can discuss fees, etc.
The internet (in its infinite wisdom) says that Weird Al doesn't need permission to do his parodies, but according to this video if you change the subject you still need permission. So which is it?
He doesn't need permission because of Fair Use. (my explainer at firemark.com/fairuse). It's not just changing the subject. It's about what the TARGET of the parody is. But, you may be interested to know that weird Al gets permission most of the time, anyway.
So basically what you're saying is... we all need lawyers.
No... what I'm saying is that if you're going to use other people's property, its best to get permission, SO YOU DON'T need to involve lawyers. Relying on Parody and fair-use is risky and can be very expensive.
In my experience on RUclips, if the original copyright owner doesn't like your parody (especially if it conflicts with their political views) they will have it taken down. Period.
Have you tried a counter notification on fair use grounds?
@@gfiremark Hi. Yes, I have sent out two counter notifications yesterday (one for each video takedown and strike.) I had a big video with 1.2 million views called "Kamla's' a Big Fat Liar". It was a Doors parody of "Light My Fire". I think I used too many seconds of footage from the Ed Sullivan Show of the Doors. But, in the past I would get a warning. The video just got taken down and strike added. Now I have two strikes. I'm hoping one of those counts notifications are successful. My channel is in trouble and I think it's because I'm conservative.
@@briancoyne6700 sounds like it wasn’t actually a parody, but a satire. Parody would’ve been making fun of the original song, not a political figure…
@@gfiremark I know that's how you define it in your video but that is not how it's defined everywhere else I go. Weird Al Yankovich made parodies for 35 years and he wasn't mocking or making fun of the original songs--he was "having fun" with them, but he wasn't mocking them. Where did you get that definition if I might ask?
@briancoyne6700 weird Al gets permission. I’m not making this stuff up…The LAW defines parody in the way I’ve paraphrased. Read the 2 Live Crew Pretty Woman case for a deeper dive. scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16686162998040575773
What happens if I use a fictional character from a TV show within a parody?
@Gordon Firemark Hmm, is there a limit to how far I can stretch my parody?
@@darkmoon4135 Yes. There are limits. First, it must actually BE a parody, and not merely a funny or satirical presentation. Second, you may take only that amount of the original work that is required to "conjure up" the original in the minds of the consumers of the parody.
I did a parody of gatorade logo
Do "Bad Lip Reading" type videos typically meet the test to be a parody?
Spark, ive not pAid much attention, so I can’t say. It’s certainly a humorous send upon the original, right?
Gordon Firemark Yes. Some are as simple as silly overdubs, while others are full on derivative works. If, for example, someone takes a movie trailer and alters the dialogue in a way that pokes fun at the movie, that’s presumably parody and thus free speech?
I have a song that makes fun of social justice warriors and what they want like guys in the girls bathroom etc and it's done to the melody of a famous song. I'm not making fun of the song writer in any way however she did get made fun of on south park in the same exact context so it can definitely be seen in that way God I think I just answered my question lol 🤣
super post
I am not even sure if what I am planning to do is a parody or a satire. I am going to publish my own project and then use a friend that is a great impersonator of George Bush the son to make in fun ways comments of my work as if president Bush saying that. The actual words will be original - nothing that president Bush ever said. It will be obvious that it is a comedy and does not present President Bush real thoughts or believes.
Does it make a difference if I present his comments as President Bush (everybody will know he is not) or just leave his name out and let the audience associate him as President Bush?
Genius, utterly genius of an attorney. WTF are you?
Is making a channel using someone's face and artists name harassing them with it and posting such things as edits of the person they are pretending to be and there address and doing illegal things under the account called parody because the people doing it to our artists not only think it's a joke and not illegal they think it's parody by impersonation
This is a very fact-specific question, and Freedom of Speech plays a strong role in such situations. Generally, one doesn't have a right to stop others from using their name, image or likeness, unless the use is commercial (i.e., an Ad) in nature. But it's worth consulting a lawyer who'll do the investigation and research into the law, to find other possible approaches to shutting down those who abuse things.
i see a whole song here re-created in name of parody. stealing of creativity!
If it is truly a parody, then it is a lawful use of the work.
Arrest weird al
@Gordon Firemark whoosh
Great advice. But pls never quote from wikipedia again. Thanks.