Copyright and DMCA

A notice withdraws a video from public view the moment it is received, before anyone has judged the claim. That is a real consequence for the creator, so file one only if you hold the rights, or act for whoever does, and only if the use is not fair dealing, fair use, commentary, criticism or parody.

Notices you know to be false are misuse of this process and are grounds for closing an account, as well as exposing you to liability for the creator’s losses.

• The video is withheld from public view immediately and the claim enters the review queue at high priority.
• The creator is told which claim withheld their video, and by whom — a notice is not anonymous.
• A reviewer reads the claim and the video, and either restores it or keeps it down.
• You are given a reference number when the notice is recorded. Quote it in anything you send afterwards.

Withholding is not deletion. The creator keeps the file and their library throughout, which is what makes a wrongly-filed claim reversible.

Send a counter-notice to [email protected]. Include the claim reference from the notice you received, the link to your video, why the material is not infringing — a licence, your own authorship, or a fair-use argument — and your name and contact details. A reviewer reads it against the original claim and restores the video if it stands up.

Accounts that repeatedly publish material they have no rights to are terminated, as the Terms set out. Claims that are upheld count towards that; claims that are rejected do not.

Trademark complaints, impersonation, right-of-publicity claims, court orders and notices that need an attachment all go to [email protected]. So does any claim you would rather a person read before the video comes down.