Free Youtube Video Downloads: Is It Legal?

Every time we talk about Spotify, Google Play Music, YouTube Premium, Apple Music or Deezer, there are always one or more people who say that they save paying the monthly fee because they download free music from YouTube in MP3 that they later save in the internal memory of their devices.

The process of performing this type of download is relatively simple nowadays, with the number of resources available on the web. However, the moral doubt that arises when doing so is: Can the procedure be considered lawful? Below, we will clear up that common doubt with an objective and unbiased answer.

Online applications for downloads

You should always keep in mind, that you can get some digital file for free, does not always mean that it is penalized. Piracy is one of the great evils of the Internet, and although there are services such as Netflix, Spotify, Youtube Premium that offer a huge catalog of content for an affordable price.

On the other hand, there are people who are not willing to pay $10 or more to reward artists for their work, either because they do not have that money available for fun or in others who simply do not want to pay the amount.

In a few words, it is much easier to go to YouTube, search for the trending topic, copy the URL and download it, in a quality not guaranteed through online services or free apps.

Position of Youtube's policies on the issue

According to YouTube, «Free and fair use is a legal doctrine, which permits, in certain cases, the reuse or downloading of copyrighted material without the express permission of the copyright owner. »

This means that there are cases in which you could download a YouTube video without paying to reuse it, depending on the conditions and agreement that the owner makes with the YouTube platform.

Each country has different laws according to its legislation

Each country has its own intellectual property laws, so each country is responsible for deciding whether the use of material used without the owner's permission is governed by fair use principles.

YouTube presents the case of the United States, where the courts are governed by some parameters to decide whether or not the use is legitimate.

Classification and authorization according to the use we will give it

The purpose and nature of the use (including whether the use is commercial or for non-profit educational purposes): If you use a video to give another meaning to the original, it may be considered unauthorized use.

The nature of the copyrighted work: it is not the same to use a fragment of a news program to talk about the newsworthy event as it is to download a video of Rihanna to use her music in a video of a personal channel.

The quantity and nature of the part used in relation to the total copyrighted work: it is not the same to use small fragments of the video as the complete piece, although the use of a small fragment may be considered more feasible in cases where it constitutes the central part of the video.

Line between what is lawful and what is not allowed

The effect of such use on the value or potential market of the copyrighted work has limits that are sometimes unclear: if you take fragments of a film to make a spoiler-filled montage, you will be affecting the film's production company, which will stop making money because we have exposed the plot of its work.

As you can see, the cases in which copyright can be 'violated' are very particular and are not universal. In fact, YouTube recommends asking for advice before doing so to save yourself any mistakes you may make.

Case in which the author explicitly grants permission for the free download

A very different issue is that someone uploads a song or video of their own to YouTube and offers, in a completely disinterested way, to grant permission to download the video or audio. In that case, we can download the song from a platform that offers this download service, with the exception that it is not from Youtube itself, but with the link to share that it presents from YouTube.

Final considerations

Finally, it is important that every time we download a copyrighted video or audio for free from platforms such as Youtube, Netflix, Vimeo, Google play music, among many others, you must always take into account two things: The policies of Youtube or the respective official platform and, secondly, the legislation of each country regarding the issue of intellectual property.

Taking this premise into consideration, it is possible to freely download the respective file from the official platform where it is hosted. For all of the above, we suggest that users who use these Youtube video downloader tools know how to use them within the permitted legal margins.