Terms of Use

We are creators, and we LOVE what we do. We find a lot of purpose in sharing it with the world to educate in science, which is one reason why all of our educational videos on YouTube are FREE! However, there are correct ways to share our creations (which equals very appreciative amoebas) and incorrect ways that violate our legal copyright. These violations can cause major problems in our ability to continue, requiring us to file time consuming DMCA violations and take away valuable time from creating. Please help us avoid wasting precious time due to this by following our terms of use below.

Note: We are supporters of the Fair Use Copyright Act. We believe its design furthers transformation and innovation while still considering the rights of copyright owners. There are a lot of misconceptions about Fair Use in education. Fair Use actually weighs several factors. Here's a fantastic resource (not affiliated) for understanding fair use: https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/four-factors/

Thank you for following our below terms of use!

Our terms of use allow (and greatly appreciate!) using the YouTube embed code or linking to our YouTube videos for sharing on websites, learning management systems (LMS), social media, and presentations. This means that using a YouTube link or embedding from our YouTube video(s) [such as what Google Slides will do when inserting a YouTube link] which ultimately connects to our video(s) on YouTube is fine. This helps people find us, and it helps us reach others as part of our purpose. You don't have to ask us about using our YouTube links or YouTube embed codes!

So what is not permitted in the video terms of use? While having YouTube embeds/YouTube links which ultimately link to our video from our YouTube channel is absolutely fine (and appreciated), hosting our actual video file (or a recording of our video) is prohibited. That means that actions like uploading our actual video file/recording to other places such as your own YouTube channel (this also violates YouTube's terms of service), an educational platform or tech tool, Facebook, or a publicly accessible cloud service such as a public Google Drive folder are all examples of actions that would be prohibited. This uploading of a creator's video file to another website/platform is often referred to as "freebooting" a video. We explain why this is harmful to creators in our below "Frequent Terms of Use Issues." We should also mention that occasionally we make important edits or clarification cards to our videos- these are never visible on a stolen video since it isn't playing through our YouTube channel where the edit or clarification card was made.

Please see our frequently asked questions below:

What if YouTube is blocked on my district's or institution's network or devices?

YouTube is one of the largest global video sharing platforms available, and it offers many educational videos exclusively on its platform. This can be a conversation to explore with your district or institution's IT department and leadership about the filtering options that Google (who owns YouTube) provides. For example, YouTube has a link to share how specific videos or entire channels can be approved on a school network. They also provide a support page on this topic that educators can send to their IT staff. YouTube additionally offers a restricted mode for devices which hides comments and blocks content that it labels as inappropriate. We have observed that many large school districts in our area have opened YouTube in different filtering capacities and here are just some examples: (A) some districts provide YouTube access for teachers and then allow teachers to "approve" certain videos that are the only videos accessible to students using their own filtering software, (B) some districts will approve specific YouTube channels in advance on their filter and only those channels will be accessible for both teachers and students, or (C) some districts enable YouTube's restricted mode in addition to their own network filter for all staff and student devices while also providing digital citizenship education. Overall, this is a determination that needs to be discussed and evaluated within a district to make a decision that is best for them. If choosing to use our videos, our actual video files (or recordings of our videos) cannot be uploaded into other platforms as outlined on our terms of use. They must be either linked to or embedded from our YouTube channel using the YouTube embed code.

Do you delete your older YouTube video links/embeds when you update them?

No! Unless there is a major identified issue, we do not delete our old videos (although you may not see them in our updated playlists). YouTube links/embed codes should hold even for old videos. Learn more here.

I represent a business entity, and I'd like to know if I can have your video on my website or platform?

We receive requests from businesses asking to host our actual video files in their paid courses or behind platform walls. We want our videos to be freely accessible on our YouTube channel, and we therefore do not sell our videos. We deny requests to allow our videos to be uploaded, but you still have the ability to use our YouTube video links or YouTube video embed codes on your platform/website/app just as we allow to everyone, provided you have ensured you are in compliance with YouTube's terms of service.

I just received a notification that a video of yours that I was using in my classroom was removed? Do you not allow your video to be used on other platforms?

If you received a notification that a video was removed due to copyright, it’s likely that the video being used was actually uploaded onto the platform itself by the user that placed it there (instead of using the YouTube embed option). You can check with the edtech tool or platform to confirm. But keep in mind most platforms and edtech tools including (but not limited to) Google Docs/Slides, Edpuzzle, Nearpod, Schoology, Blackboard, Google Classroom, and Canvas do have an “embed from YouTube” option that you can opt to use with our videos and works well for our terms of use! It would just be a matter of choosing to use the YouTube embed on those platforms instead of uploading our actual video to them. Doing an internet search with the name of the edtech tool or platform with the phrase “how to embed a video from YouTube” can provide instructions for how to embed from YouTube in order to avoid this concern.

Can I use your videos with edtech tools that embed YouTube videos?

As Pinky is a former classroom teacher, we know some of these tools have amazing features for making edu YouTube videos more engaging! If the edtech tool uses an approved YouTube API, this is fine with us. This means that the edtech tool is ultimately using YouTube's APIs to embed the video (meaning they are not using their own embedding software nor uploading the video file to the platform) and ultimately, the video feeds from YouTube. Our experience is that most edtech tools will ultimately connect with the YouTube video using an approved YouTube API as they want to be in compliance with YouTube's terms of service. However, some may not, and we have encountered some that attempt to host our video files independently which is awful for creators and additionally violates YouTube's terms of service. If you're unsure about whether the edtech tool is using an approved YouTube API, the company can usually can give you an answer if you click on their contact page and send them a message. You can even paste this question here: "Can you tell me if your tool streams videos from YouTube using an approved YouTube embed API so I can make sure it's in compliance with YouTube's terms of service?" If the answer to that question is yes, then this is not a problem for our terms.

One thing to emphasize: please know we are only speaking for our own channel and this is not necessarily the policy of other edu creators. Some creators have actually disabled the ability to embed their videos.

I'd like to translate your YouTube videos?

Check out our page about contributing translated subtitles here! We so greatly appreciate our translators! Please note our videos cannot be dubbed due to our licensing, and our videos can only be hosted on our YouTube channel as our terms above mention.

Our terms of use allow for using our free handouts from our handout page for classroom use as long as (1) our free handouts are not being used for financial gain, (2) our handouts are not available in any edited form publicly- meaning that publicly they exist as the same file type; nothing added or removed, (3) text or design from our free handouts are not copied into a document or work, and (4) our name remains on our handouts so we are credited (which helps others find us).

Note: We get some questions asking about how students can write on PDFs, as our handouts are in a PDF format. Check out our page here.

*Answer keys created using our content can NOT be posted online publicly. This is an editing on top of our copyrighted text and a violation of our terms of use. We tend to be especially protective of this when it is reported to us, because answer keys publicly posted are a disservice to other educators who wish to use our activities. We offer official answer keys on Teachers Pay Teachers, which also have the same terms.

Resources We Sell on Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT):
In mid-2017, we started to create other resources that are sold exclusively on TpT which include- but are not limited to- "Select" Recap Handouts with keys, Annotated Video Script Templates, and our Unlectured Series. Similar to most items sold on TpT, they include terms of use that they cannot be posted publicly online as this would prevent us from being able to support our work. If using any of our TpT resources online, they must be behind a password protected page, classroom code, or platform that uses a login. You can see more detail about the terms of use for these products in TpT product descriptions.

Our terms of use allow for sharing and posting of our cartoons/comics and GIFs on websites, social media, and presentations as long as creations (1) are not being used for financial gain which means our art cannot be placed in items that you are selling (example: our art cannot be on an educational resource that you sell online or in print- we do not license our art for anyone to use on/within items they sell) and (2) are not edited which includes removing our name from the comic/GIF or adding translations on the comic/GIF (some translations were granted permission by us- contact us for permission). One of our most frequent "terms of use" issues that we have to handle involves large social media pages posting our comics/GIFs that have had our name edited out as shown here or here which directly violates our terms of use. Our comics and GIFs already contain our name. You can learn more about why editing out the name of a creator's art is an issue that is so detrimental in our "frequent terms of use issues" list below.

In 2020, we started receiving more questions from sellers on Teachers Pay Teachers (TpT) specifically. Please expand question item below.

I sell educational resources on TPT (Teachers Pay Teachers) or on another product platform, and I am wondering if my products can involve your creations?

Please note that when items are sold, even to be used in the classroom, they are considered commercial items as you are selling products. We have placed information below that should help with most questions, but you can also email us with the button at the bottom of the page if you need any clarification. The information below comes from our terms of use.

1) The sold product, product preview, and/or product description cannot contain any images that we have created (images from videos, comics, our logo, etc).
2) The sold product, product preview, and/or product description cannot contain the questions we've created on our free handouts or TPT handouts.
3) The sold product, product preview, and/or product description cannot imply that it was made by "The Amoeba Sisters." We've actually received feedback where purchasers have thought that we made a resource that is sold that we didn't make. Since we don't want any customer confusion as we also have TpT for some items that help us support ourselves, if our name is used, it needs to be clear that we did not make the product. It could be something in the product description like: "Note: This product is not made nor endorsed by the Amoeba Sisters. It uses a video that was created by The Amoeba Sisters on YouTube."

4) The sold product CAN link to our videos (links are great) or use the YouTube embed code (this is what some platforms such as Google Slides uses). More info below.

Regarding our Videos in TpT Products:
Yes, you may link to our video on YouTube in your product or use the YouTube embed code (which is what Google Slides and some other programs use) as part of your product. We allow this to anyone. Meaning any use of our video in your product should be something that plays either from an Amoeba Sisters YouTube link or is embedded from The Amoeba Sisters YouTube channel. If inserting a video from a YouTube URL on Google Slides, for example, this uses a YouTube embed and is fine. If your product involves an edtech tool with our video, and you cannot determine if the product uses the YouTube embed code, please send the edtech company an email to check. You can even directly copy this question here to the edtech company: "Can you tell me if your edtech tool streams video from YouTube using an approved YouTube API so I can make sure it's in compliance with YouTube's terms of service?"

As on our terms about our videos on this page, our video files themselves cannot be something that a buyer downloads from your product. Your buyers would need the ability to access YouTube to see our videos, and you may wish to note this in your product description. Just a note: we generally do not delete old videos, so even if we update a video, any old link or embed should still work! If your purchasers need any tips for viewing edu YouTube videos, we have this page here that you are welcome to share. It's a link that we also continue to update if we learn about new YouTube features, and we've received feedback that it has been useful. :)

Additional Information for TpT Sellers:
1. If you are in search of art for a product you sell, TpT actually has an entire page on how to find art for your sold product(s). Again, we do not allow sellers to use our art in the TpT products they sell. When a TpT seller uses our images in educational products, product previews, and/or product descriptions, they commercially benefit from adding our artwork to their sold products.

2. Re-drawing an artist's art (including ours) and putting it on a product that you sell is not a way to circumvent an artist's copyright. Depending on its nature, a copy can be a reproduction or derivative. Artists can protect their unique artwork from copying, reproduction, and derivative works, and this is especially important when it is being used on items that are being sold. More information about this from TpT here. What about Fair Use? While we are supporters of the Fair Use Copyright Act as we believe its design furthers transformation and innovation while still considering the rights of copyright owners, there are a lot of misconceptions about Fair Use. Just because something is used in "education" does not mean it is Fair Use. Fair Use actually weighs several factors. Here's a fantastic resource (not affiliated) for understanding fair use: https://fairuse.stanford.edu/overview/fair-use/four-factors/

Since we've been in this for eight years now, we have experienced a lot with handling terms of use issues. We think many times, individuals may be unaware about how some of these issues negatively affect creators, so we made this chart to help explain more. These are the most frequent issues we encounter. Thank you for following our terms of use!

Frequent Issue #1

An answer key is made using our resource and posted on a public website (such as a Weebly site, Wordpress, Blogger, Wix, school hosted website/LMS, etc).

What commonly results from the issue?

While the individual likely only intended this key to be used with their own students, it is now publicly online. Many of our handouts have open-ended responses asking students to contribute their own thinking and voice---and this can take that away from them. Other teachers find our resource difficult to use; we receive complaints.

Why does this negatively affect creators?

Our resources can lose value as a feedback tool for educators. We understand that educators want to make answer keys to our work, but please do not place them on a public website. [Note: We also sell official answer keys, and they also have these same terms]

Frequent Issue #2

A social media page posts one of our comics or GIFs, but our name has been edited out of the image (example here). All of our comics and GIFs contain our name.

What commonly results from the issue?

The page gains attention for an image where the author has been cropped/edited off. Now the image appears to have no author, and it spreads this way in many other social media platforms. This baffles us- we allow large social media platforms to share our [unedited] images- why would anyone want to crop off our name?

Why does this negatively affect creators?

The unattributed image continues to be shared and some platforms place their logos on the seemingly "authorless" material, claim it as their own like this, or may put it on merchandise. This can be a time consuming nightmare to sort out. By the way, if you ever see a comic that appears authorless because the name has been cropped/edited off, you can put it in a reverse image google search to easily find the author- and the original image.

Frequent Issue #3

One of our videos is uploaded (not linked or using YouTube embed code) to an individual's own YouTube channel, Facebook page, platform, or website. This usually requires that the individual downloaded the video first in order to upload it somewhere.

What commonly results from the issue?

One of our actual video files now exists on a different YouTube channel (which also violates YouTube's terms of service), Facebook, platform, website, etc.

Why does this negatively affect creators?

Stolen videos are videos that are not linked/embedded from the channel they came from, and the result is viewer confusion and lost views. This is very harmful to YouTube creators. We also have some videos where we have obtained special permission to use a musical work in our video, which would not extend to a stolen video. Please use our YouTube video links or the YouTube embed code (which looks nice on websites).

Frequent Issue #4

A resource that we sell on Teachers Pay Teachers is uploaded on a public website.

What commonly results from the issue?

We are notified of the item being online publicly---typically in the form of complaints from others who purchased the resource. We have to file a DMCA, which takes time to fill out and then also time for removal.

Why does this negatively affect creators?

There is much time spent on creating TpT resources, and this is one major way that we support ourselves (as well as other creators). This hurts our ability to support ourselves and is unfair to other TpT purchasers. If using our TpT resources online, please ensure that it is placed behind a password/code protected page/platform.

Frequent Issue #5

An illustration or GIF we created shows up in a product that is being sold on a platform such as Teachers Pay Teachers (or other educational product platform).

What commonly results from the issue?

The seller of the product commercially benefits off of our illustration or comic on their product (ex: an educational resource that is being sold). We have to file a DMCA, which wastes time and that alone may not rectify the situation depending on how it was distributed. Please see the question specifically about TPT right above this chart.

Why does this negatively affect creators?

We, and many other creators, love to share our art for free for non-commercial use. But "free" does not mean a creator's art can be placed on an educational product that is sold. This is the very definition of using a creator's art to benefit commercially, and the actions required to fix it are time consuming for creators. This can also hurt the ability of creators to fully utilize their own work.