YouTube Actually Becomes More Reasonable Over Draconian Copyright Takedowns!

YouTube has actually improved its Content ID copyright takedown system, making it less biased towards copyright holders – a much needed improvement as many a frustrated user will testify. They have announced three significant changes to the evolving Content ID system which aim to set a more even balance between copyright holders and uploaders (users).

The first change is the most important, introducing a new appeals process. Previously, there was no appeal possible if a copyright holder filed certain types of takedown notice, such as monetization claims. If a user now believes that this was filed in error, the copyright holder will have to file a formal DMCA notice or release the claim, putting the video back up.

Secondly, better detection if invalid takedown claims by YouTube’s automated system. Marginal claims are instead submitted for manual human appraisal to decide their validity. “This process prevents disputes that arise when content not owned by a partner inadvertently turns up in a reference file.”

The final change is an improvement to the matching quality to better help identify an alleged infringing video. YouTube have improved the algorithms used, along with a more comprehensive reference library. More detail is available on YouTube’s Creators blog linked to below.