This article on ‘How to report copyright infringement on YouTube?‘ was written by Nayanika an intern at Legal Upanishad.
Introduction
Films and music have a significant role in promoting culture. Copyright also guarantees that the music’s creators get recognition and financial gain for their work. The owners can be inventive and get financial rewards while copyright rules are there. The impact of music and movies on culture is constrained by copyright infringement.
This article will be discussing what is a DMCA takedown notice, Policies for Copyright Infringement on YouTube, and How to Report Copyright Infringement on YouTube?
What is DMCA?
The DMCA is copyright legislation in the United States that guards the business against user-committed copyright infringement. In particular, if the copyright works are taken down as a result of complaints from the owners, the firm is immune from legal action. It is crucial to note that the existence of the DMCA does not guarantee that the corporation will not be sued, but rather serves as a forum for the discussion of such cases and the exposure of the infringements of their rights. To shield the business from copyright liability, the DMCA specifies three key conditions. A business must first meet the criteria for “service provider” status.
Policies for Copyright Infringement on YouTube
Under the DMCA, YouTube is acknowledged as a service provider. The second prerequisite is that an organisation must have copyright policies that force users who violate the copyright law to have their accounts terminated. According to YouTube’s copyright policy, accounts belonging to serial infringers should be removed. The last criterion is that a business should never change how copyright owners safeguard their intellectual property.
It’s crucial to understand that YouTube respects users’ copyright protection procedures. YouTube is thus protected by the DMCA since it fulfils the three conditions. Another flaw in the legislation is that the DMCA hasn’t always offered a safe harbour for all of the copyright infringement on YouTube claims brought against the corporation.
By implementing the Content ID system, YouTube improved the technology currently in use to prevent copyright infringement. This method enables the business to make takedown requests and get timely notifications of infringement.
The fair use concept established by YouTube (2015) also offers a remedy for “copyright infringement in the United States”. The doctrine permits users to repost copyright-protected content without the owners’ permission. The absence of clear criteria on what constitutes fair usage is one of the online service’s biggest shortcomings, though. There are variances as well when it comes to fair use freedom. Regarding copyright infringement by service providers like YouTube, American law is not entirely clear.
Despite this, there are both civil and criminal sanctions. The responsible parties are required to make statutory or actual reparation payments in relation to civil fines. The guilty are liable to imprisonment for up to five years or monetary fines of up to half a million dollars as criminal punishments.
How to Report Copyright Infringement on YouTube?
You may report copyright infringement on YouTube if someone has copied your audio or video and posted it. Through this procedure, you’ll be able to file what’s known as a DMCA takedown notice, which will compel YouTube to remove the offending video.
- You must be able to affirm the following under pain of perjury in order to legitimately have a video removed:
“I am the owner, or an agent authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed; I have a good faith belief that the use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and this notification is accurate.”
If a video is reported as violating copyright by anyone other than the copyright owner, YouTube does not have the policy to take it down. Even if your only goal is to be a good neighbour and report copyright infringement on YouTube as you come across it, YouTube doesn’t really accept notifications from outside sources. They advise that you refer the copyright holder here so that they may lodge the complaint directly.
This is due to the fact that when somebody other than the copyright owner reports a video, the site is not required by law to take any action. This is so that the copyright holder has the exclusive authority to enforce their copyrights. Even though this seems wrongheaded to eliminate all the copyright infringements on YouTube that occurs, if YouTube did act against videos that were the subject of third-party complaints, it might face more legal repercussions than if it had basically allowed violations to persist on the service until the copyright holder discovered it.
In addition, having the copyright holder expressly the only one who may object to a video’s legitimacy on YouTube has advantages for everyone:
- People who are unfamiliar with the rights like the owner may assert a copyright infringement on YouTube claim when none exists.
- The law permits the owner of the copyright to make the final option regarding whom to enforce their rights against and who not to in the event that they discover copyright infringements on YouTube, but they may choose to just ignore it.
- It reduces harassment if anybody could file a claim of the violation; it would be simple to manipulate the procedure to threaten people with baseless accusations that they would have to refute.
Conclusion
In conclusion, YouTube has faced several legal challenges in the past and has been charged with failing to monitor user behaviour. It is obvious that the violation has detrimental effects on culture and communication.
Bibliography
- (n.d.). Retrieved from ivypanda.com: https://ivypanda.com/essays/youtube-case-copyright-infringement-of-music-and-films/
- (n.d.). Retrieved from www.newmediarights.org: https://www.newmediarights.org/business_models/artist/how_do_i_report_copyright_infringement_youtube