How to Remove a YouTube Copyright Claim: A Step by Step Guide
Apr 16, 2024
Are you tired of receiving YouTube copyright claims and not knowing what to do about it? With this step-by-step guide, you will be able to remove and even prevent any further claims from appearing on your channel.
But first, it is important to know what we are referring to when we talk about a YouTube copyright claim, let's take a look.
What is a copyright claim?
Copyright claims are more common than you might think. They are alerts that let you know when you used someone else's content in your video, the content may have been a video clip, images or audio that you did not make. Any of these actions can create a copyright claim and if the claim is valid, the copyright owner may choose to block, monetize or track the video's analytics.
Copyright claims can refer to a copyright removal request or a Content ID claim.
What is the difference between copyright removal requests and content ID claims?
When a copyright owner finds his content protected by copyright on YouTube he can make a copyright removal request also known as “takedown notice”. Now, if you receive a copyright removal request, a copyright strike is applied to your channel, but we'll get into that later.
Some copyright owners use a tool called Content ID and so when you receive a content ID claim, YouTube warns you that you may be using copyrighted content When content ID finds a match, it automatically sends a content ID claim.
The copyright owner can decide what actions want to take after matching the Content ID with another creator, can decide if:
Deletes the complaint and takes no action on it
Tracks the video's viewership statistics
Mutes the part of the video that matches your music
Blocks the entire video so that no one can see it
How to Get Rid of Copyright Claims on YouTube?
1. Understand the claim
First, YouTube will notify you of the copyright claim, specifying what content is being claimed and who made the request.
2. Replace the music
If the claim is made on the music, there is a "YouTube Audio Library" option where you can replace the music with a royalty-free track.
3. Mute the music
You can mute the music in case it is a video where the music is not essential, you can just mute the section that is being claimed. Now, if all the music is being claimed it may not be best in this case to mute it.
4. Trim Out segment
YouTube gives you the option to edit only the segment that is being claimed, you cannot trim videos using the blur tool from the Studio Editor tool. Remember, this option would not be suitable if what is being claimed is a crucial part of your video.
Dispute the Claim
If you believe the claim is not correct and your content does not actually infringe any copyright or it's covered under fair use, fair dealing, or similar exceptions to copyright, you can dispute the claim:
Go to the Notice section of YouTube Studio.
Click on See details
Click on Select action
Click on Dispute
Then you have to explain why the claim is incorrect, try to be as detailed as possible since the copyright owner is going to read it.
What happens if I receive a Copyright strike?
As I mentioned before, if you receive a copyright removal request or takedown notice, a copyright strike is applied to your channel. After 3 strikes, that's when things get more serious, YouTube will close your channel and prohibit you from creating another one.
To solve the copyright strikes we can do 3 things:
Wait for it to expire after 90 days, when your first copyright strike appears you must take the copyright school and thereafter wait three months. If you don't do the course, the copyright strike will not expire.
Contact the copyright owner, most probably you will have to remove your video but it can also happen that the copyright owner is not satisfied with just removing the video.
Submit a counter-notification if you think your video was deleted by mistake.
Reminder: customize your own music
The best way to prevent any inconvenience with copyright on YouTube is to always use your own, original content. In case you are looking for a piece of custom music for your videos, here at Media Music Composer we can solve that, we have professionals who have known the industry for a long time and can not only help you with the composition but also with the production, recording, mix or master.
This way you will never have to worry about a copyright claim ever again.
Conclusion
There are many solutions offered by YouTube so that you can solve the problem if you receive a copyright claim, whether it is replacing the audio, trimming segments of the video or muting the audio. Ultimately, to avoid claims you need to have all the necessary copyright information and it will save you a lot of trouble in the future.
To sum up, dealing with copyright claim notifications on YouTube is not such a simple task but fortunately, it has a solution and It also serves to remind creators of the need to respect original content and its rightful owners.
