Copyright is a tricky thing on YouTube. Many people are afraid to use material that is under copyright, while other shady companies go after classical music that is in the public domain to steal ad revenue.
I’ve actually had these companies go after and steal my ad revenue right before the holiday season, years back, on my O Holy Night tutorial, way before YouTube had guidelines and a procedure to dispute copyright claims.
Now many YouTubers are using some copyrighted material (myself included) after a lawsuit ruling allowed greater understanding of the concept of “Fair Use”.
If you are creating educational content or you sing or perform covers on YouTube, there are ways to dispute the claims. Let me break it down for you.
During the upload process, YouTube checks for copyrighted material during the processing. If they find copyrighted material, you will often see a red mark and copyright claim under restrictions.
If you are certain that you have the right to dispute a copyright claim due to: error, common domain, or fair use, you can file a dispute. For fair use you need to demonstrate that your use of the material has made of significant change to the original content.
Fair use for YouTube could include: covers, news casts, reactions, critiques, mashups, dance, gaming, etc.
You can dispute or remove a claim by going into YouTube Studio and then to Content and then to the Video in question. In the video menu, click on Copyright Claim and then See claim.
This will take you to the details of the claim and and at the bottom right there is a click-able, drop down menu that allows you to dispute the claim.
With my reaction video channel, I have been fairly successful at removing the claims from my videos following the procedure I outline in this video tutorial.
In this video you will learn:
- how YouTube scans for copyrighted material during the upload process
- the difference between a copyright claim and a copyright strike
- to beware of copyright trolls trying to copyright works in the public domain
- what constitutes “Fair Use”
- how to dispute a copyright claim on YouTube
And I need to add this disclaimer. I am not a lawyer nor am I giving legal advice. I am only a YouTuber who is showing you what has worked for me and others. Please consult a copyright lawyer for more detailed information.
If you have any questions about YouTube, let me know.