What is a Content ID claim?

30/11/2019

If you upload a video that contains copyright-protected material, you could end up with a Content ID claim. These claims are issued by companies that own music, movies, TV shows, video games, or other copyright-protected material.

Content owners can set Content ID to block material from YouTube when a claim is made. They can also allow the video to remain live on YouTube with ads. In those cases, the advertising revenue goes to the copyright owners of the claimed content.

If you have received a copyright strike, get help with copyright strike basics instead of using this article.

Where do I see my Content ID claims?

To see if you have any Content ID claims on your videos, go to the copyright notices section of your Video Manager. We may also email you when you get a Content ID claim, if your video or account is affected.

Am I in trouble?

Probably not. In most cases, getting a Content ID claim isn’t a bad thing for your YouTube channel. It just means, “Hey, we found some content in your video that’s owned by someone else.”

It’s up to the copyright owners to decide whether or not others can reuse their original material. In many cases, copyright owners allow their content to be used in YouTube videos in exchange for having ads run on those videos. These ads may play before the video or during it (if the video is longer than 10 minutes).

However, there are some actions copyright owners can take if they don’t want their material reused:

Blocking a video: Sometimes, copyright owners may block your video, which means people won’t be able to watch it. They can decide to block your video worldwide or just in certain countries.
Muting a video: If your video contains copyright-protected music, the owner may choose to mute it. This means that people can still watch your video, but they won’t be able to hear the soundtrack.
Blocking certain platforms: Sometimes, copyright owners may restrict the devices, apps, or websites where their content can appear. These restrictions won’t change the availability of your video on YouTube.com.

In some cases, you can’t monetize a video that has a Content ID claim. Instead, the copyright owners can choose to monetize your video. But in other cases, like if music is claimed in your video, you may be able to share the advertising revenue with the music’s copyright owners.

What can I do about this claim?

If you get a Content ID claim, there are a few different things you can do, depending on the situation:

Do nothing: If you agree with the claim, you can just move on. You can always change your mind later if you disagree with the claim.
Remove the music: If you get a claim for a piece of music in your video, you can try to remove the song without having to edit and upload a new video. Learn more.
Swap the music: If music in your video is claimed, but you still want to have music in the background, you can swap out your audio track with one of our free-to-use songs. Learn more.
Share revenue: If you’re a member of our YouTube Partner Program, and you've included music in your video, you may be able to share revenue with the music's rights owner(s). Learn more.
Dispute the claim: If you have the required rights to use the copyright-protected content in your video, or if you think the system has somehow misidentified your video, you can dispute the claim.

How to dispute a Content ID claim

Sign in to YouTube.
Go to Creator Studio > Video Manager > Copyright Notices.
Click the link to the right of the video's Edit menu. This will take you to a page with information about what’s been claimed in your video and who claimed it.
You’ll see an option to dispute the claim.

If you dispute a claim without a valid reason, the content owner may choose to take down your video. If this happens, your account will get a copyright strike.