It’s every YouTuber’s worst nightmare. One of your videos gets a copyright strike, and you land in hot water with YouTube. Thankfully, there are steps you can take to minimize your risk of having copyright claims against your YouTube videos.
This guide will explain a few of them and familiarize you with the concept of “fair use.” You’ll also learn what to do if you discover you’ve got a copyright strike on your YouTube channel. Here’s how to get to creating and avoid copyright on Youtube.
Copyright Strikes Versus Copyright Claims on YouTube
There are two kinds of copyright issues you’ll encounter as a creator on YouTube: copyright claims and copyright strikes.
Copyright claims apply to videos where a violation is detected by YouTube’s ContentID system. For instance, if the ContentID system detects copyrighted music played in the background.
In this case, the rights holder have options. They may decide to monetize your video for themselves, track its performance, and/or block it in certain regions.
These claims do not impact your broader channel but may make you ineligible to monetize the video yourself.
Copyright strikes are much more severe. They are essentially requests from the rights holder for YouTube remove your video from the service. These strikes can incur penalties to your channel. If you receive three stikes within a short span of time, your channel can be deleted.
YouTube will likely force you to watch an “educational” video about copyright. The video stars the classic internet character The Happy Tree Friends, and is charmingly called “Copyright School.”
You can see the video unofficially on YouTube. We’ve embedded it for your enjoyment.
How to Avoid Copyright Issues on YouTube
There are a few steps you can take to avoid being vulnerable to copyright claims on YouTube. Contrary to popular belief, giving credit for copyrighted material in your video isn’t enough to stop copyright claims or strikes.
Step 1) Don’t Include Anything in Your Videos That You Didn’t Make Yourself
This is the most extreme approach, but it also guarantees you won’t have to deal with the copyright issue on YouTube. That said, it isn’t always realistic.
Step 2) Use Public Domain or Other Non-Copyrighted Material Where Possible
If you’re looking for generic background music for your videos, try using YouTube’s Creator Music feature.
Step 3) Learn About Fair Use
If you have to use copyrighted material, ensure that you are stacking the factors used to determine fair use — or its equivalent in your country — in your favor.
What is Fair Use and How Does it Apply to YouTube?
“Fair use” refers to an American legal doctrine that allows for limited use of copyrighted material without having to seek permission from the copyright holder. Remember, other countries have their own approaches to copyright. You may get a strike from outside the country.
There are four main factors that determine whether the use of copyrighted material falls under the fair use doctrine. These are:
- The purpose and character of the use. A fair use defense is more likely to be accepted for educational use rather than commercial use.
- The nature of the copyrighted work, such as whether it is fictional or non-fictional.
- Amount and substantiality of the copyrighted work being used. This doesn’t just refer to the percentage of a work used, but whether material is taken from the most consequential parts of the work.
- Effect upon work’s value. Does the use of copyrighted material affect the original owner’s ability to profit from their copyright?
Unfortunately, because there is no strict definition of fair use, a video can still receive a copyright claim even if, for example, you are producing a review of a copyrighted work that uses small sections of the work in question to illustrate your claims.
What Happens If You Get a Copyright Claim or Strike on YouTube?
If you receive a copyright claim or strike against one of your videos on YouTube, you should first remain calm. Copyright claims don’t affect your broader channel, and while you will lose the ability to monetize the video in question, you can continue creating content on YouTube without any further issues.
Other than simply accepting the copyright claim, you can also dispute it if, for example, you have a valid license to use the copyrighted content in your video. Alternatively, YouTube may allow you to mute or replace that audio section in your video.
Content strikes, of course, are more serious. If your video is taken down, your channel will receive a “strikes.” Just like in baseball, get three of these, and you’re out. Your channel will be deleted, and you may be prevented from creating additional channels in the future. At this point, your only real option is to file a counterclaim.
What Can YouTube Creators Do About False Copyright Strikes and Content ID Abuse?
Rightsholders are supposed to consider copyright exceptions before submitting copyright removal requests to YouTube. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always happen.
Corporate rights holders sometimes make automated copyright claims against anyone using their material. Some copyright owners use copyright claims as a way of getting criticism taken down.
These situations are extremely frustrating to deal with as a video creator. The burden of proof is on you to show that you haven’t used any copyrighted content or at least have used it in a way that falls under fair use. That said, you should dispute fake and overreaching copyright claims and strikes using YouTube’s system for doing so.
Remember To Stay Calm if You Get a Claim
Getting a copyright claim or strike on YouTube can be a scary experience. Ideally, you’ll never be in a position to deal with copyright issues. However, the reality is that many content creators will need to work with copyrighted material at some point.
Familiarize yourself with YouTube’s rules, the doctrine of fair use, and the steps for disputing claims and strikes. That way, you’ll equipped to deal with any issues as they arise.
