Dispute a Content ID claim
If you get a Content ID claim on your video that you believe is invalid, you can choose to dispute that claim. When you dispute a Content ID claim, the copyright owner will be notified, and they'll have 30 days to respond.
If you received a copyright strike, you won’t be able to dispute the claim through the process described below.
Should I dispute?
You can choose to dispute a Content ID claim if you believe the system somehow misidentified your video, or if you have all the rights to use that copyright-protected content.
You may want to learn more about fair use or the public domain before you choose to dispute for either of those reasons.
YouTube can’t help you determine whether you should dispute a claim, so you’ll probably want to seek your own legal advice if you’re still not sure what to do.
If you dispute a claim without a valid reason, the copyright owner may choose to take down your video. If this happens, your account will get a copyright strike.
How to dispute
- Go to the copyright notices section of your Video Manager.
- Click the underlined 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.
- If you believe that this claim was made in error, you can dispute it directly from this page.
If you previously acknowledged that the claim is valid, but have since determined you possess all necessary rights to the content in your video, you can still dispute the claim.
What happens after I dispute?After you submit your dispute, the copyright owner has 30 days to respond. If they don’t respond within 30 days, their claim on your video will expire, and you don’t need to do anything.
There are a few things that the copyright owner can do after you dispute:
Release the claim: If they agree with your dispute, they can choose to release their claim. If you were previously monetizing the video, your monetization settings will be restored automatically when all claims on your video are released.
Uphold the claim: If they believe their claim is still valid, they can choose to uphold it. If you feel it was mistakenly upheld, you may be able to appeal their decision.
Take down your video: They can always choose to remove your video from YouTube, which means you’ll get a copyright strike on your account.
If you’ve already disputed a Content ID claim and feel it was mistakenly upheld by the copyright owner, you may be able to appeal their decision.
If your account is in good standing, you may be able to appeal up to three rejected Content ID claim disputes at a time.
There may be other restrictions that affect your ability to appeal, such as the date of your appeal. You’ll also need to verify your account if you haven’t already done so.
After you appeal a rejected dispute, the copyright owner has 30 days to respond. If they don’t respond within 30 days, their claim on your video will expire, and you don’t need to do anything.
There are a few things that the copyright owner can do after you appeal:
Release the claim: If they agree with your dispute, they can choose to release their claim, and you don’t need to do anything.
Take down your video: If they believe their claim is still valid, they must remove your video from YouTube, which mean’s you’ll get a copyright strike on your account. Accounts with three copyright strikes will be terminated.
Because an appeal may initiate the takedown notification and counter notification process, the contact information you provide in the appeal form will be shared with the copyright owner, who may eventually choose to take legal action against you.
Keep in mind
You won’t be able to take back your appeal once you’ve submitted it. If the copyright owner disagrees with your appeal, you’ll get a copyright strike on your account.