Disputing DMCA Notice on YouTube Content (Explained)
Receiving a DMCA takedown notice from YouTube can be scary.
You upload videos in good faith, only to have that content removed and your account at risk of being terminated.
However, not all DMCA notices are valid.
If you believe the copyright claim against your YouTube video is fraudulent or inaccurate, you have the right to formally dispute it.
The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is a U.S.
copyright law that provides a process for copyright holders to report allegedly infringing content online.
It also gives content creators the ability to dispute incorrect or bad faith takedown requests.
YouTube complies with the DMCA by offering copyright holders a streamlined method to send takedown notices.
These notices require immediate removal of the identified content, without confirming its actual copyright status first.
However, mistakes and abuse happen often.
According to studies, over 30% of DMCA notices sent to Google contain fundamental errors.
With over 500 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, some incorrect copyright claims are inevitable.
If you receive a DMCA notice from YouTube that you wish to dispute, this guide will help you through the process.
We’ll cover:
In order to comply with copyright law and keep their DMCA safe harbor protections, YouTube has specific requirements for counter-notifications:
We’ll outline how to include each required element clearly later in this article.
The process looks complicated, but can be simple if you know what YouTube expects.
We’ll break down how and where to include the necessary statements in YouTube’s counter-notification form.
Once submitted, YouTube legal teams review the counter-notification and may restore your content within 10-14 days.
We’ll cover what notifications you can expect from YouTube and the copyright claimant after you submit.
While counter-notifications often work, there are some risks involved.
We’ll analyze potential legal consequences and strategies if the copyright holder decides to take formal legal action against you.Let’s get started with the step-by-step process!
The first step is gathering the contact details for the copyright holder or claimant.
You’ll need this information to complete YouTube’s counter-notification form.
To find the claimant’s contact information:
Copy this contact information so you can paste it into YouTube’s counter-notification form later.
Important notes:
Now that you have the proper contact details, we can move on to drafting the counter-notification.
YouTube provides an online webform to submit formal DMCA counter-notifications.
You must use this standard format for your dispute to be valid under the DMCA.
To access YouTube’s counter-notification form:
You are now on the counter-notification form.
This is where you’ll provide the required details about your formal dispute.
Before drafting your counter-notification, keep in mind:
Let’s go through the form section-by-section.
The first section asks for your name and contact details:
Once complete, read over your details again carefully to confirm accuracy.
Then you can move on to identifying the removed content.
“The next section asks you to provide specifics about the video or channel that was taken down due to the copyright claim.
Complete the following fields:
I consent to the jurisdiction of my local United States District Court:
Check this box to indicate your consent.
This is mandatory for a valid DMCA counter-notification.
Type of content removed:
Select whether it was a video, channel, or other content that was taken down.
Title of removed content:
Input the exact video title or channel name that received the copyright strike.
Content URL:
Paste the unique video or channel URL that was removed by the claimant.
Date removed:
Provide the date you received the DMCA takedown notice from YouTube.
Double-check your information is 100% accurate for the video or channel in question.
Errors here can lead to immediate rejection of your counter-notification.”
Now we arrive at the most critical part – making your formal statement explaining why the copyright claim is inaccurate.
In this section, you must provide a detailed explanation addressing these key points:
1. You have a good faith belief the material was removed by mistake.
Explain why you believe the video or channel was misidentified and taken down incorrectly.
Some examples:
2. Provide your reasoning.Include evidence supporting your good faith belief such as:
“The more detail you provide, the better.
Convince YouTube you have a strong, well-reasoned basis to dispute this claim.
Now we need to add the claimant’s contact information from Step 1:
Claimant’s first and last name: Input the full legal name of the individual or company that issued the DMCA notice.
Claimant’s email and physical address: Copy over the email and/or mailing address found in your YouTube copyright notice.
Confirm the claimant’s details match:
Double and triple check the contact information is 100% accurate and matches the name of the claimant provided.
Once confirmed, you can complete the next section.
To finish, you must electronically sign your formal dispute statement: Type your full legal name: Sign by typing your first and last name in the signature field.
Date your signature: Add today’s date in MM/DD/YYYY format.
Take one final pass through every field in YouTube’s counter-notification form.
Carefully review all details you input and fix any typos or inconsistencies.
You’re almost done!
The last step is clicking submit.
If you are 100% confident your counter-notification includes:
Go ahead and click Submit. Congratulations – you did it!
You have now formally disputed a DMCA takedown notice sent to your YouTube account.
Make sure to save a copy of your complete counter-notification for your records.
Now let’s review what to expect next.
Once you submit a valid DMCA counter-notification, YouTube will take the following steps:
1. Reviews your counter-notification
YouTube will evaluate your dispute statement to ensure it meets all legal requirements under the DMCA.
2. Forwards your dispute to the claimant
YouTube will pass along your counter-notification to the copyright holder who issued the original takedown request.
Per DMCA law, the claimant then has 10-14 business days to take one of the following actions:
While waiting, avoid re-uploading the content in question or attempting to circumvent the claim.
Doing so can lead to termination of your entire YouTube account.
3. May reinstate your removed content
If the copyright holder does not provide proof of initiating court action after 10-14 days, YouTube is permitted under safe harbor rules to reinstate your removed content.
However, YouTube reviews each counter-notification individually.
Even without a lawsuit, YouTube may decide not to allow re-posting of the material if they feel the original claim was valid.
4. Sends status updates via email
Throughout the approximately two week waiting period, YouTube will email notifications to update you on the status of your counter-notification:
Be sure to carefully read any messages from YouTube to your linked email address during this window.
Now that you know what to expect after submitting your dispute, let’s go over some risks and precautions.
While submitting a DMCA counter-notification is your right under copyright law, it can come with some dangers:
The claimant may choose to sue you instead of retracting their claim.
If the copyright holder feels they have a strong case, they may decide to stand behind their takedown notice by taking you to court.
Defending against federal copyright litigation is extremely expensive, time-consuming, and risky with the potential for substantial damages.
YouTube could ban your account despite restoring content.
As we covered, YouTube makes independent judgments regarding DMCA disputes.
Even if no lawsuit materializes, YouTube may still determine the copyright claim was valid and terminate your account.
Precautions to consider before submitting a counter-notification:
