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Using a screenshot of YouTube Video as a link

by MorrisA
6 replies
Hi,
I am planning to take some youtube videos and embed them onto a section of my website. However, I would like to use screenshot images of the videos on the homepage for people to click on, which will lead them to the pages with the embedded videos. (ie how buzzfeed works)

Is it legal to do this (especially if I want to monetize with something like adsense, or at least accept donations)?'

I see other websites with ads on embedded youtube videos that have been up and running for years, but I want to be sure what the rules are for using screenshots of youtube videos on
commercial website

At worst, I won't run any ads on the homepage if I can't use the screenshots. Thanks!
#link #screenshot #video #youtube
  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    If they aren't your videos, this falls under derivative content and you can get DINGED if you don't do anything with the screenshots that fall under fair use.

    If you provide commentary or include the items with newsworthy content or you use them with reviews, you MIGHT be okay.

    You have to use them sparingly.
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  • Profile picture of the author WhatIf
    Perfectly legal, it would fall under fair use, and even if the video wasn't authorized to be on YouTube, you didn't upload it. For all you know, the copyright holder authorized/uploaded it and the fact that embedding wasn't disabled also works in your favor.

    Put simply, it's nothing to be worried about!

    P.S. You don't have to take the screenshot yourself.

    Take for instance:
    Screenshot: https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7JqT_WNGr-8/hqdefault.jpg (Just replace video ID)
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  • Profile picture of the author time4vps
    An important consideration legally when deciding if the use of copyright material is "fair use" is the length or totality of the work. In other words, if you included a picture of an entire painting it could considered unfair or illegal use because a picture of a painting would be using the entire work and thus isn't much different than using the painting itself. Taking a screenshot which is 1 frame of an entire video is only a small fraction of the entire work and if it's for informational or educational use and not for profit then the artist probably doesn't have a leg to stand on.

    There's some good information at Standford's fair use website.
    Stanford Copyright and Fair Use Center
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  • Profile picture of the author Bob Nevin
    Hi Morris.

    Here are the instruction you may be looking for. Its very easy to take screenshots of youtube videos or any other material of mine. I use them all the time in my business. Check it out here Whoisbobnevin.com hope that helps. These are just instructions on how to do it. Since I'm not a lawyer I don't know all the rules but as long as you give credit to along with a backlink URL to the place you got the screenshot or embed code, you should be ok. To be even more respectful, contact the person first to see if it would be ok. However if this is your own video, and you want to take a screenshot and use it, then go for it. I take screenshots of my videos frequently but I stay clear from using other people's material. I also have instructions there that you can download and save or print out. Have a great day! -Bob
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    Bob Nevin

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  • Profile picture of the author reachintan
    it is absolutely fair and legal...however your blog won't be approved for Adsense unless you have relevant good enough content in it...check out this article How to Start a Successful Blog Today | The Minimalists
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    Chintan Mehta

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  • Profile picture of the author PassiveIncomes
    Originally Posted by MorrisA View Post

    Hi,
    I am planning to take some youtube videos and embed them onto a section of my website. However, I would like to use screenshot images of the videos on the homepage for people to click on, which will lead them to the pages with the embedded videos. (ie how buzzfeed works)

    Is it legal to do this (especially if I want to monetize with something like adsense, or at least accept donations)?'

    I see other websites with ads on embedded youtube videos that have been up and running for years, but I want to be sure what the rules are for using screenshots of youtube videos on
    commercial website

    At worst, I won't run any ads on the homepage if I can't use the screenshots. Thanks!
    This is like black hat method. Might as well, just redirect them to your embeded videos pages, this way you 100% get the traffic to that pages.
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