Labels mostly ignore individuals and instead go after distributors. Now, facing the wrath of a company and getting sued is extremely unlikely for you as an individual.
However, there’s a loophole: the law doesn’t speak on personal use. As previously mentioned, Title 17 explicitly forbids copying original content without the owner’s written infringement. They have to decide whether it’s legal or not.
It only makes sense: the ones who distribute the content, rather than those who rip off the MP4 videos, are responsible for the violation.īut what about the individual user? Are there any legal repercussions? In such cases, it’s up to the courts. Looking at the YouTube Terms of Service and the law, you can argue that the host (not the user!) is who breaks the law. Sony Music, Warners Bros., and UMG all filed a copyright infringement claim against the third-party site. The shut down came after an attack of lawsuits that labels launched. It granted you the ability to rip off hours of audio without paying one dime. was a site that let you convert YouTube videos to MP3 and download them. Are YouTube to MP4 Converter Sites Illegal? 2, then it’s illegal, since you’re gaining access to archived YouTube content with a third-party site instead of the player. 1, then you’re in good luck: using YouTube URLs in third-party converter sites isn’t illegal. If you’re not using the YouTube player, you can’t gain access to archived YouTube content.If you’re using YouTube, then you can’t employ an extension to download content.Nonetheless, YouTube explicitly states, “You agree not to access content through any technology or means other than the video playback pages of the service itself, the Embeddable Player, or other explicitly authorized means YouTube may designate.” Technically, you aren’t using YouTube’s designated video player. One would say no, especially since you’ve left YouTube for a converter side where the Terms of Service are no longer valid.Īfter all, the YouTube Terms of Service restrict the exploitation of services, not the exploitation of links. If you only use the video’s link, and not the video itself, are the Terms of Service applicable in this case? There’s an important question floating around. Here’s the way these third-party Youtube-to-MP4 sites operate: you click on a video, you copy the video’s link, you paste into the third-party site, and you download. These Terms of Service, together with the Privacy Notice at and any other legal notices published by YouTube on the Service, shall constitute the entire agreement between you and YouTube concerning the Service” Are YouTube’s Terms of Service Applicable in Third-Party Sites? Any claim or dispute between you and YouTube that arises in whole or in part from the Service shall be decided exclusively by a court of competent jurisdiction located in Santa Clara County, California. “These Terms of Service shall be governed by the internal substantive laws of the State of California, without respect to its conflict of laws principles. This sentiment is further emphasized by Article 5B, which dictates, “….you shall not copy, reproduce, distribute, transmit, broadcast, display, sell, license, or otherwise exploit any Content for any other purposes without the prior written consent of YouTube of the respective licensors of the Content.”įinally, Article 14 from YouTube’s Terms of Service states: “You agree not to access Content through any technology or means other than the video playback pages of the service itself, the Embeddable Player, or other explicitly authorized means YouTube may designate.” Article 4C from YouTube’s Terms of Service states: Against YouTube’s Terms of ServiceĪs a site, YouTube forbids the usage of YouTube to MP4 third-party sites. Since converting Youtube videos to MP4 is considered the same as copying, it can also be illegal.įair use, of course, is exempt from this rule. According to this law, it’s illegal to make copies of copyrighted videos if you haven’t been granted permission by the video owner. It’s a topic that has garnered a lot of confusion for a reason: the answer is complicated. This naturally prompts an incredibly important question: YouTube to MP4 - is it legal? Is Converting From Youtube to MP4 Legal?
So if you thought about putting together a compilation video or do something similar, read on.Īrmed with a link and a click of a button, you could have millions of hours of audio at your disposal. It’s hard not to get greedy with all the content it offers, especially with the existence of YouTube to MP4 converters. Short films, lectures, video essays are all available on the universally-known site. Being one of the biggest streaming sites, YouTube hosts millions upon millions of videos.