The legal situation regarding the download of videos or music from the internet for private users varies by country but follows common principles under copyright law.

Copyright Law and Private Copy

• Many countries allow a private copy, but only if the content comes from a legal source.
• Platforms like YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix prohibit downloading content without an official feature in their terms of service.

Illegal Sources and Circumvention of Protection Measures

• Downloading from obviously illegal sources is prohibited in most jurisdictions.
• Bypassing technical protection measures (such as DRM on streaming services) is often illegal.
• YouTube employs technical restrictions to prevent downloads, so bypassing them may violate copyright laws.

Relevance of such software to download videos

• The tool enables users to download YouTube videos.
• Whether this is legal depends on whether the service circumvents a technical protection measure.
• YouTube considers such tools a violation of its terms of service.

Legal Consequences

• Users who download copyrighted content without permission risk civil lawsuits or takedown notices.
• Downloading or streaming from illegal sources may lead to legal penalties in some countries.

Conclusion

Downloading YouTube videos is a legal gray area. It is only permitted if no protection measures are bypassed and the source is legal. However, since YouTube explicitly forbids downloads, there is a legal risk for users.