‘Fair use’ or ‘stealing’? The copyright principle at the heart of ANI vs YouTubers

Is the Asian News International news agency “extorting” YouTubers who use a few seconds of its content in their videos? Or are YouTubers guilty of “stealing” from ANI by using its content without permission?

On May 25, YouTuber Mohak Mangal alleged that ANI exploits YouTube’s copyright policies to arm twist content creators into buying expensive licences. Other creators have made similar claims.

At the heart of this dispute is a legal question: does the use of ANI content by YouTubers qualify as “fair use”?

Copyright legally grants the creator of an original work control over how that work can be used by others. Others cannot copy, share or sell the work without permission. Fair use is the legal principle aimed at promoting freedom of expression by allowing the use of copyrighted material for purposes such as critiques, reviews, teaching and news reporting.

‘Qualitative, not quantitative’

Most of the prominent YouTubers allegedly targeted for copyright infringement by ANI have adopted the fair use defence.

Legal experts told Scroll that are no hard and fast rules in Indian law to determine what is fair use.

The broad considerations for fair use usually take into account the intent of the user, the purpose of the use of the copyrighted material and the potential to economically impact the original creator’s market.

“There is a misconception that...

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