How to Deal With a Copyright Strike on YouTube
YouTube is an excellent platform to share your life, hobbies, passions, art, or anything of your choosing in video format. But how do you navigate one of the most serious aspects of the platform—copyright?
YouTube is as stringent as it gets when it comes to copyright, so you’d better learn everything about it. Most importantly, how to avoid committing copyright violations since if you get one too many, you can lose your channel, videos, and place on YouTube altogether.
So, what’s a copyright strike on YouTube, and what happens if you get one? Let’s explore.
Who Owns the Copyright on a YouTube Video?
If youcreate a video and upload it on YouTube, that’s your content—and you own the rights to it. That means if anyone else uses your content without getting your permission to do so, then that YouTube creator is violating copyright.
However, suppose your uploaded video contains materials (tunes, clips, images, etc.) that you don’t own the rights to, and you don’t have permission to use. If that’s the case, you are violating copyright rules.
Copyright is pretty much sacred on YouTube, and you’d do your best to uphold its rules or risk the consequences of getting a copyright strike every time you violate them. If you consistently breach copyright rules, YouTube might choose to remove your account.
What’s the Difference Between a Copyright Claim and a Copyright Strike?
On YouTube, you can get slapped with either a copyright claim or a copyright strike. Let’s take a look at how the two differ and what they mean for you and your channel.
What Is a Copyright Claim?
A copyright claim also goes by the name Content ID claim. So, what’s Content ID?
Content ID is YouTube’s automated system that runs checks every time a video gets uploaded on the platform to ensure that it doesn’t contain copyrighted material. Let’s elaborate.
So, say you’re a music artist that’s uploaded their music on YouTube. If you want YouTube to check and ensure no one uses your music, infringing on your copyright, you have to provide the platform with reference files—i.e. the original versions of your work. That way, the company can prove that you’re the copyright owner and get to work protecting your copyright.
YouTube uses its Content ID system to scan through videos on the platform, and if it finds that someone has violated your copyright, whether it be by using your video and audio clips or images, it files a copyright claim on your behalf. Of course, you also receive a notification about it.
Here are a few important things of note regarding copyright claims. First, these claims don’t affect the entire channel of the YouTube creator who violated your copyright. The claim only applies to the specific video that contains the material used without permission. And because of that, you, the copyright holder, are entitled to the revenue from that video. After all, your content was used in it, right?
You also have the final say on a few other things regarding the video, like monetization and restrictions. For example, it’s possible to choose to place ads on the video in question, as well as restrict it in certain countries or regions. Of course, as the copyright owner, you can also choose to do nothing, but that’s a rarity.
A copyright claim can be disputed and proven false. After all, the Content ID system is automated, so mistakes can happen. Perhaps it flagged a video wrongfully, and it didn’t actually violate copyright rules.
In any case, you’re free to file a dispute, and if you do, the supposed copyright owner because of whom you got the content ID claim will get notified and get given 30 days to respond. You have to arm yourself with patience and be prepared that they can respond on day 30 and drag the process as much as possible.
What Is a Copyright Strike?
A copyright strike is much worse than a copyright claim since it affects your whole channel and not just a single video.
But how do you get a copyright strike? Well, such a strike is issued to you if a video you’ve uploaded contains material that violates copyright rules. It can apply to images, music, video clips, or anything else that you don’t have the right to use.
The original copyright holder can choose to send a copyright strike your way for the video in question, leading to it getting blocked and removed from YouTube, meaning you can’t generate further revenue on it. But despite the fact thatyour YouTube revenue streamwill be threatened, not making money from the video will be the least of your concerns.
YouTube’s Three-Strike System
If you receive a copyright strike, you won’t be able to live stream from your account. Moreover, you lose the right to monetize your channel for at least three months.
If you want the strike to expire after those 90 days, you have to go to YouTube’s Copyright School and complete the courses. If you do, no harm, no foul for your channel.
Getting a second copyright strike before the first one has expired restarts the clock, and you have to wait another 90 days for the second strike to expire.
If you receive a third copyright strike before those 90 days go by, your YouTube channel gets terminated. You also lose your videos and get banned from the platform. Moreover, you will not be allowed tomake a new YouTube channel.
How Do You Handle a Copyright Strike?
There are three ways to deal with a copyright strike. First, you may accept it and simply wait for it to expire—bearing the consequences it brings your way.
Second, you can get a retraction—which means you get the person who issued the complaint to retract it. To achieve that, you have to get in touch with the one behind the copyright strike, have a conversation on why they feel you violated copyright, try to resolve the issue behind the scenes, and have them take back their complaint.
And third, you could dispute a copyright strike. Sometimes, the content you get accused of using without permission is—in actuality—fair use.
What does fair use mean, though? If you’re using someone else’s copyrighted content to do commentary on it, create parodies, offer criticisms or reviews, you’re offering transformative content and are not violating copyright. You can submit a counter-notification and explain how your video falls under fair use or that it was copyright struck by mistake.
Whichever option you choose, ensure you think of the consequences and are prepared to accept the outcome.
Don’t Let the Fear of Copyright Prevent You From Uploading on YouTube
Familiarizing yourself with copyright can seem scary initially, but don’t let the subject intimidate you. There are tons of useful resources online you can turn to for help with the topic and even more videos on YouTube.
You can find uploads made by YouTube itself, aimed to help creators navigate the issue, and so many videos from creators on the platform offering their perspective or their personal experiences with copyright.
It may seem like a complicated topic, but ultimately, it can be pretty simplified: don’t use what doesn’t belong to you. If you do, get permission from the original copyright owner.
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