@ObergJustin
Regarding the “Star Wars Fan Film: The Essence of the Force”, I do not think that this is protected and legal under Fair Use. I would call this film a derivative of the original. It includes the original Star Wars name in its title, it features recognizable characters from the franchise, lightsabers and the force. All of these make up and our main parts of the original Star Wars work. The Copyright law defines a “derivative work as “a work based upon one or more preexisting works, such as a… motion picture version, sound recording, art reproduction, abridgment, condensation, or any other form in which a work may be recast, transformed, or adapted” (Chap 1). The law also says in section 206 that the owner of the copyright “has the exclusive rights to do and to authorize to prepare derivative works based upon the copyrighted work” (Chap 1).
As for the “Star Wars Sage (The Best Trance Remix Montage” I also do not think it is protected by Fair Use. The video clearly uses clips and music from the original work. It also does not portray itself as a parody, a criticism or for educational use. In section 106 of the Copyright law it says that “the owner of copyright under this title has the exclusive rights to… reproduce the copyrighted work in copies or phonorecords. I would think this would apply to this video as the clips and music from the original work are being reproduced. Copyright laws can be very unclear and subjective but I do not think that either of these videos could be considered legal.