Vondran Legal® Social Media Independent Journalist Legal Services—Helping creators SAFELY post quality videos! Call us at (877) 276-5084 for fair use opinion letters, content licensing agreements, DMCA disputes, and other intellectual property matters involving copyright, trade secrets, rights of publicity, NIL, and related matters.
Introduction
In today's social-media-driven news cycle, video moves faster than facts—and faster than copyright compliance. Whether you're a lawyer, journalist, commentator, or creator covering a high-profile current event, it's never been easier to find viral footage…and never been easier to get yourself into trouble by using it incorrectly. The reality is simple: most video you see on TikTok, X, Instagram, or YouTube is not free to reuse, even if it's already public and widely shared. Copyright belongs to the person or entity that actually recorded the footage—not the account that reposted it. That's why professional creators and media outlets rely on cleared, licensed content when discussing news events.
For current-event video, the safest and most common route is licensing through established news and user-generated content agencies such as Getty Images, AP Archive, Reuters, and social-video specialists like Storyful. These services verify ownership, grant written licenses, and provide a paper trail that protects you if questions arise later—especially important for monetized channels and professional brands. But what if the footage you need isn't available through paid licensing services? That's where creators often fall back on fair use—and where mistakes are common. Fair use is not a blanket permission. It requires a real understanding of transformation, purpose, amount used, and market impact (what us lawyers refer to as the four fair use factors).
Monetization alone doesn't defeat fair use, but sloppy use of long, unaltered clips absolutely can. If you're going to comment on the news, do it the smart way: either license the footage or truly understand fair use before relying on it. The goal isn't to avoid talking about important events—it's to do so confidently, credibly, and without unnecessary legal risk. If you are not sure what you are doing, why risk ending up in an expensive lawsuit that could ultimately bankrupt you or your company?
Sources to look into for licensed content
Here are a few sources to look into:
- AP News Licensing
- Reuters Video Licensing
- Getty Images
- iStock Photo
- Alamy
- Storyful
- Storyblocks
- Junkin Media
Attorney Steve® Tip: See which ones will indemnify you if someone wants to come after you legally!
Sample Licensing Request and Content Licensing Agreement
The best way to get content is to license it from the actual rights holder. It can sometimes be tricky to identify the photographer that took an image you want to use (this is the copyright holder, typically) or the videographer that shot the video you are craving to use on your YouTube, Instagram, Facebook (META), or TikTok channel. Getting permission (in writing, of course) can be well worth the trouble of contacting who you believe the rights holder is. Below is a sample request to the copyright holder and a sample agreement that can be signed to actually license the content. These are a SAMPLE only and not designed to be used. It is just so you can get an idea of how this works. We can help you customize this agreement at a low flat rate fee to fully protect you.
Contact us
For more information, contact us at (877) 276-5084.
