Copyright law when making youtube videos about science?

AI Thread Summary
Creating educational YouTube videos on science topics like the citric acid cycle or the fundamental theorem of calculus raises important copyright considerations. Formulas themselves are generally not copyrighted, allowing for their use in educational content. However, using explanations or specific text from copyrighted sources, such as Stryer's Biochemistry, requires caution. Fair use may permit small excerpts, but the specifics depend on the context of use. To avoid legal issues, it is advisable to create original drawings and explanations while seeking permission from the copyright holder when in doubt. Engaging with the publisher for clarification can provide additional security in content creation.
christian0710
Messages
407
Reaction score
8
Hi, Let's say I was to make a youtube video on a science topic such as:
Chemistry - The citric acid cycle from the book Biochemistry by Stryer (Copyrighted)
Or The fundamental theorem of calculus


Would it be legal to take the formulas from the book, draw them on a whiteboard and videotape it while i use the explanations from the copyrighted book, just with my own words?

The confusion on copyright rules keep me from making educational videos because I'm not quite sure what part's in science are copyrighted and what parts are not. I find this a bit frustrating and I can't seem to find any rules addressing this specific question.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Pretty sure formulas can't be copyrighted, and I'm sure Stryer got those formulas from somewhere else and didn't invent them himself.
 
Yea that makes sense :)
So i guess i can basically teach anything, even chemistry techniques and methods, as long as it's not company secrets and as long as i make my own drawings and writing.
 
You should check with the publisher, using small amounts is ok under fair use. There are different rules based upon your use. To be safe, get an ok from the company that holds the copyright. Never assume it's "ok".
 
Similar to the 2024 thread, here I start the 2025 thread. As always it is getting increasingly difficult to predict, so I will make a list based on other article predictions. You can also leave your prediction here. Here are the predictions of 2024 that did not make it: Peter Shor, David Deutsch and all the rest of the quantum computing community (various sources) Pablo Jarrillo Herrero, Allan McDonald and Rafi Bistritzer for magic angle in twisted graphene (various sources) Christoph...
Thread 'My experience as a hostage'
I believe it was the summer of 2001 that I made a trip to Peru for my work. I was a private contractor doing automation engineering and programming for various companies, including Frito Lay. Frito had purchased a snack food plant near Lima, Peru, and sent me down to oversee the upgrades to the systems and the startup. Peru was still suffering the ills of a recent civil war and I knew it was dicey, but the money was too good to pass up. It was a long trip to Lima; about 14 hours of airtime...
Back
Top