Posting a clip of someone else's video is allowed when you have permission: the video's license (such as Creative Commons Attribution on YouTube), the owner's direct OK, or a clipping program the creator runs. Fair use is a defense a court weighs case by case, not a rule you can count on. Without permission, platforms remove clips, and on YouTube 3 copyright strikes in 90 days can end a channel.
It's your own video, or you own the rights to it.
You have permission. On YouTube that usually means the video is licensed Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY), which lets anyone reuse it with credit. It can also be a direct OK from the owner, or a clipping program where a creator pays people to post clips of their content. In those cases, keep the permission in writing and follow its terms.
An exception in copyright law applies, such as fair use in the United States. YouTube's help page on fair use says courts decide it from the facts of each case. Commentary, criticism and teaching weigh in your favor; copying the most important part of a work, or a use that competes with the original, weighs against you.
Giving credit. YouTube says credit doesn't by itself turn a copy into fair use, and it isn't the owner's permission.
Writing "no copyright infringement intended". YouTube's fair use page says such a disclaimer won't automatically protect you.
Keeping it short. There is no length below which a clip is automatically fine. YouTube notes that Content ID can claim a video that uses only a few seconds of someone else's material.
Adding captions or a vertical crop. They change the format, not who owns the footage.
YouTube: a Content ID claim can block a video or send its ad revenue to the owner, and usually doesn't count as a strike. A removal request does: the video comes down, the channel gets a copyright strike, and channels with 3 strikes in 90 days are subject to termination.
TikTok: its copyright policy says infringing content may be removed and that it may ban accounts that repeatedly infringe.
Instagram and other platforms have their own rules; read them for the place you post before relying on a clip there.
Most videos people want to clip are under YouTube's standard license, which doesn't allow re-uploads. In our own library about a third of source videos carry CC BY, and that share is high because Autopilot can look for Creative Commons videos on purpose. When we audited 25 sources by hand, only 12 were really CC BY, so check every video instead of trusting a channel.
| Measured | Source | |
|---|---|---|
| Source videos in our library licensed CC BY | 187 of 533 (35%) | source_assets.license in the production database, 19 October 2026 |
| Audited sources that were really CC BY | 12 of 25 | YouTube Data API status.license for each source, 19 August 2026 |
Permission settles copyright. It doesn't settle ad revenue: YouTube's reused-content rule can refuse monetization to a channel made of other people's clips with little original value, even when it has permission. If revenue matters, plan for your own commentary or editing. Our Creative Commons guide covers this in more detail.
ClipEmber reads the license from YouTube when it downloads a source and adds the full CC BY credit line to posts made from a CC BY video. It doesn't block you from clipping a standard-license video, because it can't know whether the owner gave you permission; that stays your responsibility. This page explains platform rules and is not legal advice.
Not by itself. Credit is a condition of licenses like CC BY, not a substitute for a license or the owner's permission.
There is no length rule. Fair use depends on the purpose, the kind of work, how much and which part you use, and the effect on the original's market, and a court weighs them case by case.
When the creator runs the campaign and grants permission in its terms, posting their clips under those terms is allowed. Read the terms: they usually say which platforms you may post to, how to credit and what you may edit.
The same rules apply: you need the owner's license or permission, or a use that qualifies under an exception like fair use.
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