ByYouTube Copyright Strike—What It Is and How It Affects Your Content
YouTube takes copyright infringement quite seriously, and as a creator, you should get acquainted with the YouTube copyright system and how copyright works in general.
YouTube strikes and copyright claims are the foundation of reporting copyright infringement on the platform but have also caused copyright-claim abuse among the creators.
Learning how to copyright your content and avoid committing copyright infringement helps keep your channel and videos safe, and DoNotPay is here to guide you through the process.
Who Owns Your YouTube Video?
According to the U.S. copyright laws like the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA), as soon as you record a video, it belongs to you—you are the owner of the copyright.
In case you were wondering how long do U.S. laws grant copyright protection, you are in luck because the copyright lasts during your lifetime and an additional 70 years.
Besides DMCA protection, you should note that YouTube also copyrights your videos automatically, which changes the situation a bit.
When you upload your video, you are still the copyright owner, but you grant YouTube and other creators some rights to your content:
- YouTube can use, share, and duplicate your content worldwide
- The website can also create derivative works from your videos
- Other users can use your content as well but only as part of their content—such as video playback or embeds on YouTube
Even if other users take parts of your content, they have to stick to the Fair Use policy.
This means that they can only use your content for commentary, criticizing, or parody videos.
If a creator deviates from these guidelines, you can initiate a YouTube DMCA takedown using one of the many tools the platform provides.
Copyright Claim vs. Strike
Copyright strike is a popular and scary term within the YouTube community, but users cannot actually strike someone's channel. YouTube does that if you submit a convincing enough copyright claim.
Once you file a copyright claim, YouTube will evaluate and decide whether your content was copied. If it was, YouTube will take down the infringing video and apply a copyright strike to the channel in question.
A channel can get a total of three copyright strikes before being deleted together with all its associated accounts.
How To Ensure a Channel Gets a YouTube Copyright Strike?
In case someone is using your content, you can send a copyright infringement notice to YouTube. You can use one of the methods offered on the website or draft the notice yourself and email it to YouTube.
There are several ways to deal with infringement on YouTube, which may lead to a copyright strike:
- Submit a Webform—By filling out the YouTube Webform, you initiate a process. This method of initiating a takedown is available to every YouTube user
- Find infringing content with the Copyright Match Tool—This feature is only available to channels in the YouTube Partner Program. The tool finds the videos identical or similar to yours. When there is a match, it's up to you to contact the uploader or ask YouTube to take down the video
- Draft and email the copyright takedown notice yourself—YouTube allows you to email the request to copyright@youtube.com, but the takedown notice has to be written professionally
DoNotPay Will Help You Copyright-Strike a Channel
YouTube, like many other websites, gets a lot of takedown notices. If you decide to email it, you should follow a strict set of guidelines.
Their built-in features are a bit easier to use, but unless you are a part of the YouTube Partner Program, you will only have access to the Webform.
It's crucial to draft a high-quality copyright infringement notice, and DoNotPay can help you do precisely that in a short time.
Our app was recognized by the American Bar Association with the Louis M. Brown Award for Access and is qualified to generate a DMCA notice that will get YouTube's attention.
Log in to your DoNotPay profile in your and follow these steps:
- Access the DMCA Takedown feature from your Dashboard
- Enter the title of your video
- Paste the link to the video using your content
- Paste the link to your original video
- Click on the Sign and Submit button
We'll take over from there, and you can check on the progress in the My Disputes tab.
What To Do if Someone Copyright-Strikes Your Channel?
If you use someone else's content, there is a chance they will file a copyright claim and that YouTube will strike your channel.
Apart from losing your video, you may lose some channel features, like the ability to monetize your videos.
The strike may also cause you to lose access to live streaming if the claim was related to it.
If this is the first time your channel got a strike, YouTube will request you to attend Copyright School, and the strike will expire after 90 days if you complete the course.
Take note that deleting a video will not remove the strike.
What Happens if You Get Three Copyright Strikes on YouTube?
If you receive a third strike, the consequences are the following:
- YouTube will delete your account and any associated channels
- All your videos will be removed
- You won't have the ability to create new channels
When you get the third strike, the process is irreversible, which is why you should keep an eye on the claims made to your videos and try to resolve copyright strikes beforehand.
How To Check How Many Copyright Strikes You Have on YouTube
A definite sign of a copyright strike is when one of your videos gets removed. To check if this happened because of a copyright claim, follow these steps:
- Sign in to YouTube Studio
- Click on the Videos option from the left menu
- Find the video with the Copyright claim and click on it
- Click on View Copyright claim details
How To Resolve a Copyright Strike
If you believe the copyright claim was unfounded, you have three ways to resolve your copyright strike:
| Wait for the Strike To Expire | If it's your first strike, you don't have to do anything except completing the Copyright School and waiting for 90 days |
| Reach Out to the Person Who Filed a Claim | You can ask the creator to retract the strike if you believe they made a mistake |
| Submit a Counter-Notification | You can use this option if you believe your video was deleted because of a mistake or misidentification of the content.
You can claim fair use in this case |
How Else Can DoNotPay Help Your Creative Process?
DoNotPay is a versatile app and helps you with anything from adding copyright notices to your videos to evaluating the cost of copyrighting your content.
Our app is an expert in canceling services and getting free trials with a virtual credit card.
Whether you want to cancel YouTube Premium or sign up for a YouTube TV free trial, we are here for you.
Open DoNotPay in your and learn how we can help you with:
- Appealing parking tickets
- Acquiring refunds and compensation from airlines
- Settling credit card issues
- Getting revenge against robocalls
- Securing refunds for disappointing purchases
- Suing anyone in small claims court
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- Getting in touch with customer service reps
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- Signing up for services without phone verification
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- Protecting your content from copyright infringement
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- Disputing traffic tickets