Do you have a YouTube channel? If so, there is a likelihood that you’ve uploaded a video on it only to get a copyright strike later. This is something that can be frustrating and somehow perplexing. However, understanding what this copyright claim means, and how it works is important in dealing with it.
In the following article, we’ll deal with the issues related to copyright on YouTube. What constitutes a breach of copyright? What is the price you pay if you breach the copyright? And how can you prevent the potential problems with copyright?
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What does a Copyright Strike Mean on YouTube?
A YouTube copyright claim is made when a person who claims to own rights, such as sound recordings or movies, finds out that his work appears in the clip put up by a user. The owners may be individual, corporate, or institutional. Such entities can use YouTube Content ID, which helps detect and monitor other users’ copyrighted materials. If the system detects anything that resembles the material that was copyrighted, the owner is notified and can then file a complaint.
YouTube receives an average of over 500 million copyright infringement reports in a year. These claims may be made concerning anything from music to video clips and creators are impacted whether they are musicians or artists. It is good to note that a copyright strike does not automatically guarantee the removal of your uploaded video. Instead, the owner of the copyright may decide to monetize the video by placing advertisements in it.
What Types of Actions Can You Expect If You Receive a Copyright Claim?
If you do not receive one, you will view a message in your YouTube studio dashboard especially if you received a copyright owner’s claim. This explains which percentage of your video was claimed and by whom. The following are common scenarios:
- Monetized videos: In case your video began earning money, it may be redirected to the copyright holder, and not you as intended. In a situation where, for example, you incorporate a hit song in your video, revenue generated by advertisements will go to the song’s owner rather than yourself.
- Restriction On Video: The owner of the copyright may put a geographical restriction on the video about the countries that the owner is based in. This means that people in some areas will not be able to limit the regions these countries are available.
- Loss of Sound: This is another instance where only the audio part that has been claimed to contain the soundtrack is usually muted. This is mostly noted when dealing with music videos.
If YouTube is your means of earning, you must watch for these in your YouTube Studio. According to a survey by YouTube in the year 2022, more than 60 percent of YouTube creators experience copyright infringement.
Copyright Claim and Copyright Strike: A Comparison
Terms such as copyright claim and copyright strike often confuse many creators. These are distinct terms in law. A copyright claim is a Notice to Say; a copyright strike can be defined as a Notice to Sue.
- Copyright Claim: This is a notice that does not inflict damage to a channel’s reputation and only impacts the scope of a video’s audience or its monetization capabilities. It is therefore used by copyright holders and content owners to monetise their works.
- Copyright Strike: A notice of copyright strike is severe and usually taken when there are further violations. For example, a Copyright owner will issue this notice to indicate legal measures are necessary. YouTube has a zero-tolerance policy concerning such. With three copyright strikes, all your videos can be wiped away with potential banning from opening another give YouTube channel.
As a beneficial change, in 2023, YouTube modified some rules within the governance policy enabling creators to appeal a copyright strike two times, before their channel gets terminated, which was not given before. However, caution and restraint still must be exercised, and attempts to avoid the strikes should be employed.
What is The Meaning of a Copyright Claim On YouTube?
A copyright claim is made against you on YouTube when someone takes the position that a portion of a video within which you are the author is infringing on their copyright. This can involve content such as songs, audiovisual works, photos, or any material that falls under copyright. YouTube employs various resources including a Content ID system when users post videos to assist in version comparison. If any content appears to be similar, it can be registered by its proprietor.
An infringement notice is not a penalty and the copyright holder cannot prevent the author from broadcasting a video. In some instances, however, the copyright holder may choose to restrict the viewing countries or even the video itself in its entirety. You have not been served with an infringement notice suggesting that you will face any legal ramifications, however, you may lose the opportunity of monetization and viewership of the video which you have invested time finding difficult to create.
What if your Video Gets a Copyright Claim?
YouTube has the mechanism that when a copyright claim is made against your video, you can see it from your dashboard. This view will indicate which segment of your video has been claimed and what initiatives the copyright holder has adopted. There can be several outcomes:
- Change in Monetization: The owner of the copyright may opt to place advertisements in your video. The revenues of these ads are not yours but theirs.
- Restrictions on the Views: Sometimes, the owner may impose restrictions on the area where the video is uploaded. For instance, it could be that specific countries have been cut off.
- Restriction of Video: The owner, in particular instances, may also restrict the video making it unavailable to all YouTube audiences.
Receiving a copyright strike does not occur with a reporter, but it affects the reach of the content and the monetization aspect.
Copyright Claim vs. Copyright Strike: Here’s What You Need to Know
When discussing YouTube copyright issues, many get confused by the term, a copyright strike, with a copyright claim. Nonetheless, there are significant distinctions:
Copyright Claim
Copyright owners go through every video and almost always manage to locate borrowed or copyrighted material that belongs to them. The decision is left to the owner, who can opt to it’s having advertisements added, have age restrictions placed on it, or permit only a select number of views.
Copyright Strike
This is very serious, and it is referred to as a copyright strike. This phrase indicates that a copyright owner has contacted YouTube and the broadcaster has breached copyright laws. Moreover, this results in penalties, in which a three-strike system is followed to the T, meaning if you get three strikes within 90 days, your channel will be deleted.
In 2023, it is estimated that there were more than five hundred thousand copyright strikes each month on YouTube alone, which reveals how big of a problem copyright strikes are. While a claim doesn’t have much weight over the health of your channel, a termination, or a strike, does and must be taken with utmost care.
An Overview of Music Copyright Takedowns and Strikes
Music copyright is the leading cause of numerous content ID claims on YouTube. Name any type of media, including background music, cover songs, or any other sound that you do not own and this media is likely to elicit a takedown notice. Just a mere few seconds of music can turn one’s video into a voice-over of sorts, and that is where Electronic Arts tries to step in with its Content ID initiative.
According to a senior official at Youtube Bank Ltd aka Electronic Arts, Youtube runs one of the most advanced Content ID initiatives in the current media landscape. The company also reported that as of last year, Content ID had been making all the music strikes over 98% of the time since it was created. This means YouTube has proprietary audio control over millions of media pieces.
Do you have any free-of-charge collection? Yes, of course! Or you probably find it safe to listen to their Premium subscription. For users who can afford subscriptions, YouTube Premium provides ad-free sites hosted on YouTube for people who can’t afford subscriptions.
Should You Worry About Copyright Claims on Your Channel?
Claim abuse may have no immediate obvious effects on your channel, however, de-link monetization for a video that warranted investment to create content, you may need to lose monetization altogether if there has been a recent copyright or third-party licensed media breach.
Do not violate YouTube platform basics repeatedly as this allows a few multiple breaches to go unnoticed. Overall, steer clear of traces of other kinds of IP when using other tools online to engage in further marketing activities.
Are there any Correlations between Copyright Claims and Video Performance on YouTube?
When it comes to the question of do copyright claims affect Video performance, YouTube hasn’t really made an official statement about this – but the popular perspective among a wide section of creators is that copyright claims do affect video performance. Some claim that ranking for search is important for some videos while others claim that videos may be claimed and hence may tend to receive fewer views.
This performance impact is probably related to the considerations of monetization. If videos cannot be monetized then YouTube does not need to promote such videos since there are no advertising benefits to the platform. However, this is more of a belief among creators than a proven fact.
What to Do If You Are a Victim of Copyright Claim on YouTube
If you are issued a copyright claim, there are three choices you have in this case:
- Do Nothing: If you are not concerned with the action taken against you or the copyright claim, you may choose to ignore the claim and do nothing. The copyright owner is free to do whatever they wish to do, and some monetization options are bound to come up about your video.
- Remove or Replace the Content: YouTube also provides solutions to audiences who wish to upload legally claimed content such claims are made by opponents. One way is to mute the videos where the sound was claimed or to turn the video into another audio track from the YouTube audio library.
- Dispute the claim: In case you think the claim is illegitimate or that you are using the content within the boundaries of fair use, one provision permits dispute of the claim. Exercise caution however while making disputes since a loss can attract a copyright strike.
In 2021, U Tube received more than 2.5 million disputes out of which approximately 60% were resolved in favor of the uploader. This indicates that disputes can be useful options, but they should be employed in moderation.
Disputing a Copyright Claim: When and How to Do It
Where you feel your video does not encroach on copyright, then it is reasonable to raise a dispute. Here’s what you have to do:
- Go to Your Video: From your YouTube studio, click on the video forming the subject of the claim.
- Click ‘View Copyright Claim Details’: Clicking this will give an indication of what part of the video is claimed.
- Click ‘Dispute’: The next thing is to click ‘Dispute and go through the procedures to file a dispute’. You have to give the reasons why you feel the claim is wrong. Cite reasons that are logical such as fair use policies, the content being in trim of public domain, or you have permission of the copyright holder.
- Wait for a Response: No response is expected after 30 days, if for any reason the customer is silent the claim will be deleted.
Disputing a claim is not an easy task and it is a decision that needs to be thought through. In case you are wrong, things can end up escalating to a copyright strike and this can be damaging to you. Always be sure of your stance before you make a dispute.
Ways to Avoid Getting Copyright Strikes
To help you secure your channel, consider these recommendations:
- Apply Royalty-Free Music or Licensed Music: Always use music that you have the right to use. YouTube’s Audio Library is a great resource.
- Eliminate Content That May Lead to Claims: You won’t have any potential claims if you use your videos, music, or images, and this is possible if you create your content.
- Evaluate Your Content Before Uploading: Determine in advance the content you might use and utilize YouTube’s Copyright Match Tool and check if there is any content that may claim might be created.
- Keep Fair Use Provisions in Mind: Fair use can be a way to address the concerns, however, it is a bit of a grey area. In the event that you intend to use someone else’s materials, cloaked content must be within the fair use parameters. This may be assistance in making comments, educational content, or criticism, but it is risky all the time.
Addressing Common Misconceptions: If One Gives Credit, Is That Copyright Infringement – Or A Violation?
Remember how a good amount of students would say the words “In my essay, I would like to acknowledge the work of X in Y” regardless of whether or not it was warranted? The reason is to protect themselves against accusations of copyright infringement. But this isn’t true. Although it may be a good idea to give credit when it’s due, it does not give one the right to use the content.
Giving credit does not authorize you to utilize someone else’s work if that someone is still the copyright owner of the work. You are still obligated to seek permission to use it unless the usage falls under the fair usage policy. According to a 2020 survey, 82% of mentioned YouTubers believed that crediting the source’s owner is sufficient to keep away from problems with copyright, yet the majority were mistaken.
My Thoughts
Understanding how Copyright claims work on YouTube should be one of those things that an individual considers if they want to focus on the side that is known as content creators. Although they are less serious than strikes, they will nonetheless have an impact on the prosperity and revenue of the channel. Creating your content, having the relevant permissions, and understanding fair usage will assist you in avoiding claims, leaving you free to concentrate on expanding your channel.
YouTube can indeed be regarded as a social network, but at the same time, it provides people with an opportunity to be innovative and share their ideas. However, it is crucial to remember that YouTube can be regarded as a business as well. All channels benefit from understanding copyright and its rules, not just ones targeting copyrighted materials. Remain alert, stay on course, and endeavor to produce material that is fresh and does not infringe on the rights of other creators.
