Read Alouds: Fun? Or Infringement?

Reading a book aloud on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube may sound like a fun idea, but did you know that reading a book in its entirety may violate the author’s or publisher’s copyright? If the book being read isn’t in the public domain or the reader didn’t receive express permission from the author or publisher to read the whole book online, it is considered infringement. That means an author or publisher could take legal action.

Reading a book aloud publicly (such as in a video uploaded to social media) that isn’t your own is an infringement of the author’s copyright if the book is still under copyright protection and permission wasn’t obtained.

Reading books aloud that are in the public domain is OK, and permission is not needed. Books in the public domain and considered clear of copyright are older works, including many folktales and early school “readers”, etc. All works published in the United States before 1924 are in the public domain. Works published after 1923 but before 1978 are protected for 95 years from the date of publication. If a work was created but not published before 1978, the copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. It gets a bit more complicated with joint authors and works made for hire. As an example, books published in 1925 entered the public domain this year (2021).

Fair use is a defense in the United States against copyright infringement when you use an excerpt of copyrighted content for parody, criticism, news reporting, education, or research. A teacher reading to a class in online learning is an example of fair use for education.

So, if you read a few passages from a book as part of a YouTube or Instagram review, that would probably qualify as fair use. Publishers generally don’t mind if you read a portion of a book to promote it. But reading the entire book without obtaining permission for the purpose of entertaining your viewers with the story, (no matter how well meaning)-that’s NOT fair use.

By reading an entire book online for viewers, you are essentially creating a free audiobook that competes with sales of the author’s book. In this instance, the author or publisher can take steps to remove the video or initiate legal action.

So, if you intend to read a book aloud in its entirety on social media or in a recorded video to be shared with the public for entertainment purposes, make sure the book isn’t under copyright protection or get permission from the author, publisher, or other copyright holder to read the whole book or even an excerpt.