The short answer is that clipping someone else's footage is legal when you have permission and legally exposed when you do not. Almost everything else about this question is detail hanging off that one distinction.
Why permission is the whole game
Copyright in a video belongs to whoever made it. Cutting forty seconds out of it and posting that on your own account is reproduction and distribution, both of which are the copyright holder's to authorise. The length does not change this — a clip is not exempt because it is short.
This is exactly what a funded clipping campaign solves. When a creator puts money into a pool and invites clippers to cut their content, they are granting permission explicitly and in writing, for a defined purpose, on stated terms. The licence question is answered before you start editing.
What fair use does and does not cover
Fair use, and fair dealing in the UK, can protect commentary, criticism, parody, news reporting and teaching. It is a defence assessed case by case, not a category you can opt into, and the factors that matter are how transformative the use is, how much you took, and whether it substitutes for the original.
- →Adding substantial original commentary strengthens the argument.
- →Reposting the best moment with captions and nothing else weakens it considerably.
- →Taking the single most valuable segment counts against you even if it is short.
- →Monetising the result does not automatically defeat the defence, but it does not help.
The practical problem with relying on fair use is that it is decided after a dispute, not before. A takedown arrives first and the argument comes later, which is a poor position for a channel you are trying to build.
What platforms enforce, separately
Platform rules are stricter than the law and enforced automatically. Content ID and its equivalents match audio and video against a rights database and act without anyone filing a complaint. Repeat matches cost you the account, regardless of whether a court would have agreed.
Platforms also demote unoriginal reposts on quality grounds. A clip with a fresh cut, captions and framing is treated differently from a straight re-upload, even when both are licensed.
The sane way to operate
- →Clip from funded campaigns, where permission is part of the deal.
- →Clip your own content freely.
- →Get written permission for anything else, even informally by message.
- →Keep a record of what you were permitted to use and when.
- →Do not assume a credit in the caption substitutes for permission. It does not.
None of this is legal advice, and anything with real money attached deserves a proper opinion from someone qualified in your jurisdiction. But the operational rule is simple enough: clip what you are allowed to clip.
Clip from campaigns where the permission is already granted.
See live bounties