Sometimes. But calling a video a “reaction” does not automatically make it fair use.
Reaction is a format—not a legal category.
The question is what the new video actually does with the original work. Does it use selected material to criticize, analyze, explain, disagree, parody, or otherwise say something new? Or does it let viewers consume most of the original while watching someone else sit beside it?
Commentary Must Do Real Work
Criticism and commentary are recognized fair-use purposes. That does not mean every comment qualifies or that mentioning the original automatically protects everything shown.
A stronger reaction video makes the creator’s commentary the reason for the borrowed material. The clip illustrates a point being examined. The creator pauses, selects, reorganizes, compares, challenges, or explains the material because doing so is reasonably necessary to the new discussion.
A few facial expressions, occasional laughter, or short remarks placed around long uninterrupted portions of the original present a weaker argument.
Talking during a clip does not automatically transform it. The legal question is not whether your microphone was on. It is what your contribution adds.
How Much of the Original Do You Use?
There is no safe percentage or number of seconds.
The amount used should have a reasonable relationship to the purpose of the commentary. If you are discussing one statement, scene, performance, editing choice, or argument, you may not need to show everything that came before and after it.
Using the most memorable or valuable part of a work can also matter, even when the excerpt is short.
A reaction video becomes more difficult to defend when it reproduces long passages simply because viewers want to see them.
Can Your Reaction Replace the Original?
Ask whether someone could watch your reaction instead of watching, listening to, subscribing to, or purchasing the original.
A reaction that depends upon criticism or analysis may serve a different purpose from the source material. A watch-along that presents nearly the entire original may compete with it directly.
If viewers are mainly there to consume the original through your channel, the word “reaction” may be doing more work than your commentary.
What Have Courts Said?
Courts have found particular reaction and commentary videos to be fair use when the borrowed excerpts were incorporated into genuine criticism and commentary. They have not declared reaction videos categorically lawful.
Every use still requires the four-factor analysis under Section 107 of the Copyright Act. The U.S. Copyright Office describes fair use as a case-specific inquiry, and YouTube likewise warns that merely adding original material does not automatically make a video fair use.
YouTube’s Decision Is Not the Court’s Decision
Content ID cannot conduct a complete fair-use analysis. A potentially defensible video can still be claimed, demonetized, restricted, or removed.
The opposite is also true. A video remaining online does not prove that its use is lawful. It may simply mean that the copyright owner has not acted, permits certain uses, or has chosen to collect the revenue.
Copyright law, platform enforcement, and monetization eligibility are related—but different—questions.
A Practical Reaction-Video Check
Before publishing, ask:
- What am I actually saying about the original?
- Why must viewers see or hear each excerpt?
- Did I select what I need, or simply play what is available?
- Are there long stretches where the original carries the production?
- Does my work serve a meaningfully different purpose?
- Could viewers treat my reaction as a substitute for the original?
- Am I prepared to explain each editorial choice if a claim arrives?
Do not merely react. Have something to say—and use only what you reasonably need to say it.
If a reaction video matters to your channel or business, Matthew B. Harrison and Harrison Legal Group can review the proposed structure before publication or evaluate your position after a claim arrives.
For a focused walkthrough, visit Reaction Videos and Commentary or the broader Copyright & Fair Use Resource Center.