YouTube Copyright Claims vs. YouTube Strikes

Copyright laws are not always simple and straightforward, especially in the digital space. The management of digital rights comes with many moving parts. Although developing an understanding of this is an important part of your responsibility as a YouTube content creator, it can often prove to be quite complicated.

In this article, we will help in simplifying the concepts of YouTube copyright claims and YouTube strikes for you. Although they appear to be somewhat similar at first glance, copyright claims and strikes tend to affect channels very differently. To understand the difference between claim and strike, it is important to first understand each of these copyright infringement processes individually.

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Copyright policy of YouTube

When it comes to copyright violations, YouTube does not play around. The YouTube Community Guidelines clearly specify that the content creators can only upload original content or content they have permission to use. If your content is not in compliance with these guidelines, it can lead to a copyright claim or a copyright strike.

What are copyright claims?

Copyright claims are also called Content ID claims because they are made on the basis of the content matches found through the Content ID system of YouTube. The Content ID system is a digital rights management tool on YouTube which performs automated scanning of every video that is uploaded on the platform. When the system finds a match for the uploaded video, it sends a notification to the copyright holder that some part of their content is being used without their permission. Here are some things you should know about copyright claims –

• Copyright claims are a part of copyright legislation.
• They can only be applied to the flagged videos, not on the entire YouTube channel.
• They do not affect your YouTube channel negatively.
• If you use someone else’s content, the copyright holder can claim the revenue generated from that video.
• The copyright holder also has the option to generate revenue by placing ads on that video.
• The holder may also restrict your video to particular regions or countries.
• In some cases, the copyright holders choose not to take any action at all.
• Users have the option to dispute a copyright claim if they believe it to be false.

What are copyright strikes?

A YouTube copyright strike is usually issued against a content creator when they upload a video containing copyrighted content without the permission of the owner. If copyright violations are found with a video, the owner has the option to take down that video from YouTube. This means that the video will be blocked everywhere, and the content creator will not be able to generate ad revenue. Here are some things you should know about copyright strikes –

• Copyright strikes can affect your channel adversely.
• With a copyright strike, the owner has the option to remove your video from the platform completely.
• Receiving a copyright strike means that you would not be able to derive monetization benefits for your videos.
• YouTube also imposes limitations on live streaming from your account.
• If you receive less than three copyright strikes, they usually expire after a 90-day period.
• If you accumulate three copyright strikes, YouTube will terminate your channel and also ban you from creating any more channels on the platform.

Difference between copyright claim and copyright strike

When copyright holders are notified about a copyright violation, they have two ways to manage their interests –

1. By issuing a takedown, which will lead to the removal of the video from the platform.
2. Using the Content ID tool to issue a copyright claim, which will present the holder with several options. They can monetize the video, collect ad revenue or block the video in certain regions.

Copyright claims have always been more common as compared to copyright strikes, outnumbering the latter by 50 to 1. While a strike is always accompanied by a takedown, this does not happen with copyright or Content ID claim.

Takedown notice – Copyright strike

According to copyright law, platforms like YouTube are required to heed the takedown requests and follow the due process as stated in the law. For a copyright takedown, the holder has to submit a formal takedown request to YouTube, with due legalities and along with all the requirements.

When a user receives a copyright takedown notice, they will see a copyright strike issued against their video for violating the copyright guidelines. This will be accompanied by a phrase – ‘Video taken down: Copyright Strike’ and the video will also be removed from the channel. This means that you have collected a copyright strike in your YouTube account. YouTube policies are quite severe when it comes to copyright strikes. On receiving the first copyright strike, you would have to complete a course with the YouTube Copyright School, which will help you understand how copyright laws are enforced on the platform.

If the copyright takedown was issued erroneously, the user has the option to give a counter-notification. Through this notification, the user can ask YouTube to legally reinstate the video that was removed because of an alleged copyright violation. In another case, the copyright owner might retract their claim if they realize they have erroneously issued a takedown notice for a video. After the retraction, too, all the original content of the user is restored on YouTube.

Content ID claim – Copyright claim

Copyright claims or the Content ID claims are markedly different from copyright takedown notices, which are defined under copyright law. Through the system of Content ID, YouTube matches the content uploaded by creators against all the other content present on the platform. When YouTube finds a content match with the video uploaded, it sends a copyright claim to the user with the phrase – ‘Includes copyrighted content.’ The claim is usually sent to track or monetize the said video. It does not lead to the removal of the content from the platform. With a copyright claim, your video will still remain live on the platform, and you will receive YouTube views through it. However, it may have ads on it if the copyright holder chooses to generate ad revenue through it.

Copyright claims never result in copyright strikes and imposition of limitations on the channel. However, the users still have to option to dispute the copyright claim if they believe it was issued erroneously.

FAQs related to copyright strikes and claims

How does one copyright strike affect our channel?

When your channel receives a copyright strike, you should take that very seriously. It essentially means that your channel and account can lose good standing on the platform. With one copyright strike, you may see some limitations imposed on your account in the form of live streaming restrictions. You will also not be able to monetize your videos anymore. After issuing one copyright strike to a user, YouTube usually gives them a chance to restore their benefits. If they do not commit any other copyright violation within 90 days from the issuance of the first strike, it expires on its own.

What happens if we collect the second and third strikes within the 90-day period?

If you end up receiving more strikes after the first one in the 90-day period following that, you might land yourself in deeper trouble. With a second copyright strike, you will definitely lose your good standing on the platform. Besides this, you would have to wait for 90 more days for the two strikes to expire. If you end up collecting a third strike on top of this, YouTube terminates your account on the platform and removes all your content. YouTube will also prevent you from creating any new channels on the platform.

While in most cases, the bad news ends there, sometimes the copyright holder can also take you to court, and you could have a legal challenge on your plate. If you end up losing the case, you could be buried under a substantial fine besides the legal fees.

How can copyright claims and strikes be avoided?

If you want to steer clear of any kind of copyright strikes and claims, it is important to use only authorized visual and audio assets. Your best bet would be to include content that is completely original and your own. If you are going to include additional content in your video, make sure to get it from open-source sites. There are tons of sites these days offering free-to-use stock videos, images, and also music for your channel.

Conclusion

With the information provided in this article, you will hopefully be able to steer clear of any kind of copyright claim or strike on YouTube. If you do end up receiving either of the two, you are now equipped to manage or dispute them, depending on your situation.

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