And even though many know of YouTube’s copyright rules and uncompromising stance, some creators on the platform still try to bend the rules or believe it shouldn’t apply to them. Worse yet, some take advantage of loopholes and misuse the copyright system.

Let’s delve into the world of YouTube copyright, how it works, why it’s important, and the ramifications of infringing on it.

So, you’ve decided to start a career as a YouTuber. What now? You’re working on your first video, and have questions about copyright. Well, if you upload a video you’ve made that only contains content you have created yourself, the copyright to that video is yours.

You cannot steal someone else’s content and re-upload it as your own or include it in your video without being authorized to do so. That includes music, movie and show clips, other people’s video content, and anything you did not make or own yourself. YouTube is quite strict about this, and you will get penalized if you steal someone else’s work.

As per YouTube’s copyright rules, your first offense will get you a copyright strike, and if you get three strikes, you’ll get banned from the platform and your channel will get taken down.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you can’t use copyright content at all. It simply means that if you want to use content you do not own the rights to, there are things you have to do first.

You must have permission from the original creator to include it, or you must adhere to the fair use rules. For something to fall under fair use, you must prove that you use the copyrighted content to do commentary, a review, or criticism on it or use it to make a parody.

It’s generally accepted that for something to classify as fair use, your own commentary and criticism has to outweigh the other content you’re using and add to it. So you just sitting there watching, barely uttering a word, will not do.

Whether something is fair use gets determined on a case-by-case basis, and many people take advantage of YouTube’s strict system to report copyright infringement when it’s not there. YouTube is still having difficulty sorting out between real complaints and bogus ones, thanks to people taking advantage of its strict policy on copyright.

Intent Doesn’t Matter

When it comes to YouTube copyright, your intent will not save you from getting a strike. If you violate the rules without taking the appropriate steps, you will face consequences. To learn more, check out YouTube’s copyright myths.

Attribution Isn’t Enough

What is attribution? Well, attribution is you outright saying in your video “this content comes from [original author]” or including that information in the video description box, video title, or pinned comment.

Yes, you may have attributed the content to its original creator, but no, that’s not enough to save you from a copyright violation.

For content that’s not yours, you have to get permission from its creator to use it and/or provide ample commentary over the footage so that it falls under fair use. Simply stating that you used someone else’s work doesn’t excuse you, even if you had the best intentions, like wanting to praise or shout out the original creator.

Turning Off Monetization Doesn’t Matter

As a creator, you can make money on YouTube. It lets you monetize your videos as soon as you tick two boxes. One, you must have a minimum of 1,000 subscribers. And two, you must have accumulated at least 4,000 watch hours during the last 12 months. After that, you’re free to turn on monetization and make money from your content.

That being said, if you violate copyright rules and use someone else’s content wrongfully, it doesn’t matter whether you have monetization on for that video or not. Some creators are under the false illusion that if they simply don’t monetize the stolen content, it won’t matter to YouTube that they’re infringing on copyright. That’s not true.

Regardless if you choose to monetize the stolen content or not, you will get a copyright strike if you don’t adhere to copyright rules.

So what happens if you infringe on copyrighted content? Let’s examine the possible consequences.

Getting a Strike

There are two types of strikes on YouTube: copyright strike and community guidelines strike.

You can get a community guidelines strike for many reasons. For example, if you used the wrong kind of thumbnail for your video, i.e. if it’s misleading and doesn’t reflect what’s actually featured in the video. To avoid getting a community guidelines strike, it’s best to familiarize yourself with YouTube’s Community Guidelines.

A copyright strike comes your way if you use copyrighted material in your video. As explained, that can be music, clips, images, or anything you do not own the right to or have permission to use.

Though you can appeal a copyright strike and attempt to resolve the issue, be wary of racking up too many. As previously explained, getting three copyright strikes means losing your channel and all your videos and getting banned from the platform.

Takedown Notice

If a copyright owner spots their content being used by someone else in a video without permission, the copyright owner can send a complaint to YouTube.

If YouTube then determines it to be a valid complaint, you can get your video taken down. Aside from removing the video, YouTube also gives you a copyright strike.

Content ID Match

What is Content ID? It’s an automatic system YouTube uses to match content deemed to violate copyright. Since thousands of videos get uploaded to YouTube hourly, Content ID is quite helpful in checking against millions of videos and ensuring there are no copyright violations.

For Content ID to work, copyright owners must upload reference files or, in other words, the original versions of their work, so it’s easily verified that they own the rights.

The simplest example is with music artists proving they own the rights to their songs. Many YouTube creators have gotten unnecessary copyright violations for using copyrighted material, even though there are many places online you can find royalty-free sounds and royalty-free video clips to use instead.

When you upload reference files as a copyright owner, YouTube uses the Content ID system to check against all the newly uploaded videos and determine if anyone has stolen your work. And, if there’s a match, YouTube automatically files a copyright claim in your name.

There are many things you can do to avoid getting a copyright violation. For example, you can use the YouTube Audio Library, which holds royalty-free tunes you can use in your videos. There are also plenty of sites online that let you download copyright-free music for free.

And, if you’re set on using copyrighted material, ensure you have permission to do so. Otherwise, you’re taking a huge gamble. There are a ton of resources you can turn to instead of infringing on copyright, as doing so has consequences, and you stand to lose your channel and all your videos, along with getting banned from YouTube entirely. Not worth the risk.