Monetizing Copyrighted Material on Youtube

[Samwise89]

Something I've been wondering about, and admittedly not done any deep research about, is big content sites that create a ton of videos on Youtube. Are they monetizing those videos for themselves using Adsense through Youtube?

What I'm asking is, what are the rules and laws surrounding using movie clips and music clips and video game clips? Is it something like "as long as the clip is no longer than 30 seconds?" I know there's stipulations on educational material, news broadcasts, etc.

Could I make something like The Top 10 Movie Villains of All Time and get away with monetizing it legally if I edit it in an acceptable manner?

 

[Benni]

I admittedly haven't done deep research around this topic either, however, one of my sites in the sports vertical does a shit ton of traffic leaking through YouTube, specifically from recording clips of sports plays that we believe will be highlighted or searched for and getting them up on YouTube quickly. A perfect example that has sent hundreds of thousands of visits is the ron artest fight.