YouTube‘s copyright system has given more than one YouTube creator a headache, and they’re finally doing something about it.
For those not in the know, YouTube has a copyright system in place that allows users and corporations to flag down material that isn’t rightfully yours to upload; like anime episodes and music videos for example.
However the system has been abused to a point that corporations who don’t like your content (despite not having done anything infringing their copyright like Lets Play style videos) can order takedowns that could result in your channel getting deleted. YouTube is finally doing something about this.
So YouTube wants to step in to defend fair use. For some videos, YouTube will refuse to comply with takedown notices and take no action; to the extent of covering legal costs to defend the video in court. However, the videos will only stay online in the US, so we don’t how whats the full extent of this yet, but its a good start.
The news came about with a blog post from Google copyright legal director Fred von Lohhman; stating that this was long overdue.
“We’re doing this because we recognize that creators can be intimidated by the DMCA’s counter notification process, and the potential for litigation that comes with it,” said von Lohmann. “ […] While we can’t offer legal protection to every video creator—or even every video that has a strong fair use defense—we’ll continue to resist legally unsupported DMCA takedowns as part of our normal processes. We believe even the small number of videos we are able to protect will make a positive impact on the entire YouTube ecosystem, ensuring YouTube remains a place where creativity and expression can be rewarded.”
YouTube has pushed back before in the past; especially in cases where companies were using it improperly; like for this video about the Kojima vs Konami fiasco) that had Konami issuing a takedown:
But they’re hoping that this will have a ripple effect for the better; especially with companies that are using it to lash out at creators who, in their eyes are giving their products bad press.
Hopefully this changes the attitudes regarding to copyright strikes as a whole, because if it does the creators can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
