Creators Battling YouTube Copyright Claims
Content creators are consistently facing copyright claims and strikes on YouTube, even when attempting to use licensed or public domain music. This creates confusion, frustration, and uncertainty about what constitutes fair use and how to navigate YouTube's copyright system, hindering their ability to share content.
SOURCES (60)
“I got flagged over some background music I used.... even tho it said it was royalty free?.... It's fine I just removed it using YouTube. But I wonder if that will hurt engagement? Been 3 hours since I posted the video and it's still at…”
“Even this is not foolproof - there have been reports of AI based slop sites copying originals then having the temerity to issue strikes against the creators This has happened to musicians where someone with a really popular video steals the music from some unknown/small musician then strikes the musician There is no foolproof way - especially with crap AI being used to monitor/enforce it”
“tbh most of those retrospective channels still get claims, they just dont get strikes. theres a big difference. a claim might mean the copyright holder takes ad revenue on that video, a strike is way more serious. so expect claims but focus on making your commentary the core of the video”
“It only says that this copyright-protected content was found. The claimant does seem to be one of those rights management groups acting on behalf of the artist himself. It does seem a little fishy because it seems like 2 different distributors have his music (one is the one claiming copyright, the other being the copyright free site I got the music from originally) but it could just be my paranoia from dealing with one scammer trying to claim VGM that wasn't his. I don't mind replacing i”
“I started a new channel not too long ago and I wanted to make a video talking about a show I watched growing up. I plan on adding a bunch of clips from the show to back up the topics I’ll be discussing. How do I use clips without getting copyrighted? Would me giving my commentary as edited and unedited snippets from the show are playing be enough to count as fair use? Or would I have to do more? To give an idea it would be similar to the “Retrospective of ___”, where they talk about the show giv”
“Scripts are subject to copyright and people have successfully taken down videos where a script was majorly copied 1 to 1. Don't listen to the guy above, they have no idea what they are talking about.”
“You said it uses 95% of your script so that would almost entirely be word-for-word. If the video is in the same genre and category as your original one then it’s not fair use either.”
“No. thats a Snow Patrol song from the same era. OP is talking about Eminem's music video with only 18 views. Maybe users didnt know back then that they had to see the whole video for youtube to count it as a view. Those were the stone ages of the internet.”
“Copyright strike he most likely will explain " fair use" and then you have to drag him into a court.”
“https://preview.redd.it/p3dwgxe6tumh1.png?width=1465&format=png&auto=webp&s=90970de178c701fa7516f61a0e024921f02eba8a why can't i listen to it bruh submitted by /u/luafurry [link] [comments]”
“In your dispute just say "this footage is not in any way the same, the claim to ownership of it is baseless and firmly repudiated."”
“I would strongly advise skipping the email and just submitting a dispute against the claim directly through YT. They'll review it immediately and cancel the false claim if the content is indeed your own.”
“This is actually very common. Huge content creators will sometimes use software to scout the net for infringements on their copyrighted material. And that software often makes mistakes. So simply file a counter claim and you'll be good to go 👍”
“You must pay to license music. I recommend a site like Artlist.io - a small monthly fee and nearly unlimited music selection.”
“The title is self explanatory but one thing I don't understand is that I'VE SEEN TONS OF VIDEOS USE THE EXACT SAME SONG THAT HAVEN'T BEEN TAKEN DOWN FOR IT random examples I found: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/M97vGb5jAFQ https://www.youtube.com/shorts/orv7Q6Qg994 https://www.youtube.com/shorts/E24-PtIkOrE https://www.youtube.com/shorts/FBp9ol3bPFk submitted by /u/DAGHOSTKNIGHT [link] [comments]”
“Ik that there's a 30 day delay, but I got copyright claimed when the song I used (that I have the rights for) sounds nothing like the song being claimed I used. In these cases, where the claimant is just wrong about the song being used in question, is it dealt with faster? Thanks! submitted by /u/KangarooNormal5409 [link] [comments]”
“I used to upload my own music about 15 years ago, got some claim and thought it was serious; it put me off uploading my own music until this year when I realised there was a way of dealing with false claims and that they were made automatically by the system. Sometimes I wonder if even the claimant knows. I reject the claim and the 30 days run out without a peep from the other party. It's tiresome, though.”
“I'm not the one to talk about DMCA, but just came here to say laws and regulations aren't automatically applied worldwide. Also, the burden of proof concept (which is what was mentioned as "the claimant must prove ownership of the content. You don't have to prove its yours until they bring evidence") is pretty much accepted everywhere but it's always a good thing to check what happens in your own country. Even if you have nothing to worry about, getting in the middle of”
“been there done that - doing piano pieces - and it's kind of an awkward honor that those copyright claims come from famous recordings at times. we dispute the ones that are in the public domain.”
“TIL after fighting this bogus claim, The Orchard Music is notorious for bogus copyright claims After posting a video which contained a short film, and making sure all the music was licensed under Creative Commons (from Freesound.org), The Orchard Music / YouTube identified a timestamp and claimed that I was using a track that sounded nothing like what I had actually used. Naturally I fought this and brought up many of their past bogus claims (discussed not only on Reddit, found through a Google”
“Why is this happening. I make walking videos of my city, my latest video does really well and now I got a copyright claim from this person with millions of followers that I used his footage. It's my own footage! I delete the original files to work on my next video because my laptop doesn't have enough storage. Could this be an accident? I checked the stream where he visited my city and our footage does not look alike at all. Why would such a big streamer do this, I'm not by”
“Well, do people care for your opinions in that way, now? And your video will get blocked, anyway. Where you say: "It isn’t reviewed internally to determine if it’s against their guidelines??" No. Youtube state they don't arbitrate in any form. There's barely any humans working there, these days.”
“ok thank you... i had a similar thing happen to me but that time i was able to contact other youtubers from whom a guy stole videos from and then w all copyrightstriked him together, the guy texted me and was like hey im from a poor country and stuff like that, then threatned me and stuff but later saw that yeah his channel got terminated”
“Its an automated process and often outsourced. If anything hats off to the band for making soundtracks from two different performances be identical.”
“Justice for Jamlab (and everyone else unfairly affected by this issue) submitted by /u/Dickballs835682 [link] [comments]”
“Yeah as Tom Scott explains so well in that video YouTube's system is far from perfect but it's not broken to it's core. It's a system that has to work around laws that fundamentally do not work with the way people create content on YouTube and does what it can to allow that content despite the laws. Of course it could always be better even within the laws but the core issue is not due to youtube.”
“How big is your channel? At around 5000 subs I got access to chat support via YT Studio. If you have this option just try it. Before that it was nightmare to try and dispute anything. I was just getting automated replies which were not relevant to the issue most of the time. If chat support is not an option just tag them on X and keep making posts explaining the issue. This brought attention and helped me with a wrongful termination of my channel early on. AI moderation just sux..”
“like those low effort static image memes you see on youtube shorts - can the creators get in trouble? submitted by /u/donteatmypigeon [link] [comments]”
“the whole thing where you appeal and the same company that filed the claim gets to judge it is such an obvious conflict of interest it hurts”
“YouTube does not take you to court. The ip holder does. YouTube will take down the video or terminate the channel. The ip holder is the one who’d take you to court. Usually, unless it’s very egregious, they won’t though because YouTube already took care of it via taking the video or channel down”
yes.. if u upload original content or added something that value
“Just adding narration over somebody else's edits likely would not be considered transformational enough to claim fair use.”
“The live version of a band playing a song live will not match the audio of the same band playing the same track at a different event. It will if they're playing to the same backing track for each performance. Moreover, the BBC doesn't own this band or the rights to its music Actually they do own the rights to their Glastonbury performance...”
“Why doesn't YouTube's dispute process fit the situation? Just dispute the claim and politely explain that it was made in error and that this is a completely different performance. The band probably used the same backing tracks for both shows and that's what's getting picked up by Content ID. Also you pretty much never have the right to post someone else's live performance you recorded. Selling live bootlegs used to be something you could go to jail for so a copyright claim on”
“I filmed a full set at Field Day 2023 and uploaded it to YouTube. The video had been up for about 3 years, and a couple of months ago it was blocked because of a BBC claim referencing Glastonbury 2023 – Park Stage – Friday (see screenshot). It's my own recording, filmed by me, of a different gig, and they blocked it claiming they own the audio because they recorded the same band at a different event. I've now spent the last couple of months trying to work out how to get the claim removed”
“There's no beating YouTube's automated copyright check with just editing alone. Once you get flagged (which can happen either right as you upload, or at any time, randomly, even 2 years after you publish), they deem all instances of the film problematic. You see this, as they give you timecodes for virtually every time you use footage from the film. There's no way to edit around that without ruining the video. So the fact that so many successful channels are on YouTube with crisp foo”
“You’re talking as if fair use is a magical incantation that works perfectly in all circumstances. That is not the case. I'm not. I'm talking specifically about film channels on YouTube, and the fact that no studio will take you to court over a review. So even if you get claimed, you can appeal and dispute and they release the claim on their own accord. Because again, having a film channel on YouTube is perfectly legitimate.”
“You’re talking as if fair use is a magical incantation that works perfectly in all circumstances. That is not the case. I can’t link to it on this subreddit, but YouTube publishes a copyright transparency report each year. In 2025, 2 out of 3 copyright counter notifications were never passed along to the copyright owner. Given the scale of YouTube, I find it hard to believe that none of those denied counter notifications brought up fair use.”
“But copyright claims can (and sometimes do) block videos in every single country, making it effectively a "takedown." I should know, it happened to me recently. But you're right, not being a strike means you can dispute/appeal it invoking fair use, and it goes back up as if nothing happened. Which is exactly my point here. Having a film channel may bring claims that either take your monetization or block your video altogether. But thanks to fair use, you can safely dispute and appe”
“As a viewer, there’s no way of telling if a video has a copyright claim applied to it. It’s also impossible to tell how many re-edits the uploader had to do to beat YouTube’s automated copyright checks. “Visible on YouTube = no issues” is not sound logic.”
Copyright claims don’t take down videos. That’s what copyright strikes do.
“That’s not true at all lol. You can’t “envoke” fair use because it isn’t a legal shield. Fair use is only a defense in court. The IP holder can absolutely have your video taken down permanently while you scream “fair use” all you want. Fair use can only be decided by a judge and the 4 pronged test will be used…in court by your defense lawyers. And a judge decides if it meets that or not. In fact, YouTube has a whole policy explaining that only court determines fair use, and they’ll take it down”
“And the teacher may need to have a talk with their boss and possibly the school legal counsel.”
“you'll probably get claimed but not struck. Those are two very different things. A claim isnt something to stress over tbh, it just means ad money on that video goes to the rights holder. Your video stays up and your channel is fine.”
“It doesn’t matter if you show a half a second of a clip, it’s copyrighted material.”
“Okay i mean tbf i just needed to sing, i was bein extra with instrumentals. But yeah we had to post it on yt, unlisted or otherwise it doesn't matter”
“Sorry, I read your post wrong. You said "more likely to happen than if you didn't use other people's work," which is true. Ignore my second question. But my first question still stands. Why would YouTube take down a review channel? Film content is a major part of YouTube, tons of great channels with millions of subs, tons of medium-sized channels too.”
“Copyright law in the US has a "fair use" provision. It means that you can use the movies, etc., in your content for the purpose of reaction, comments, etc. Prior case law states that you must use only the sections relevant to your commentary. So if you're talking about a scene, it's perfectly fine to show clips of that scene. In my experience, using clips shorter than 4 seconds will satisfy the YouTube copyright system and you won't have issues. Make your videos and have fu”