How To Deal With Copyright On YouTube: CONTENT ID Explained #WTFU

As one of the few (only?) professional YouTubers who deals with fair-use issues, *and* runs his own multi-channel network, Jon goes in-depth to carefully explain all of the nuances of YouTube's notorious "Content ID" system... explaining why the recent changes on YouTube have nothing to do with a change in any copyright policies, why gamers aren't the only ones affected, how best to deal with the system, and most importantly: what single fix could correct the entire system instantly.

UPDATE: In January 2014, YouTube adjusted the dispute system so that MONETIZATION IS DISABLED DURING ARBITRATION. The uploader still loses out on their earnings, but the claimant isn't getting them either. A step in the right direct, at least.

TOPIC TIMELINE:
00:00 -- Cold Open
00:25 -- Introduction
00:56 -- Jon's Background
01:26 -- Content ID's Origins
02:58 -- Benefits Of Content ID
03:21 -- Match Policies
05:09 -- Multi-Channel Networks
06:18 -- Recent Changes To The System
06:48 -- What Are Your Options?
08:07 -- Fair Use Explanation
08:36 -- The Effect On The Gaming Community
09:35 -- How, Why And When You Should Dispute
11:10 -- Knowing When To Appeal
12:02 -- Dealing With Copyright Strikes
12:47 -- Overview Of CID's Flaws And Our Expectations
13:37 -- The Real Problem With Content ID
14:42 -- Conclusion And Solution
15:23 -- Final Thoughts

Further Reading:

~~ Jogwheel Originals ~~
Original sketches, short films, parodies, music videos, documentaries, stunts, pranks and other fun projects from the Jogwheel Productions team. New "episodes" are unscheduled, but usually air once a month.

Born in February 1986, Jonathan Paula is a professional YouTuber and creator of the hit web series, "Is It A Good Idea To Microwave This?". In April 2006 he founded Jogwheel Productions, a new media production company that specializes in web video. Jon graduated from Emerson College in 2008 with a degree in Television Production / Radio Broadcasting. He currently lives in Rockingham, NH with his wife Rebecca.

~~ Links ~~

~~ Technical ~~
Created by ----- Jonathan Paula
Starring --------- Jory Caron & Riley McIlwain
Camera --------- Panasonic HMC-150
Microphone ---- Sennheiser ME 66
Software -------- Adobe Premiere Pro CS5

• Jogwheel Productions © 2013 •
~

[Jogwheel]

Perhaps the most important video I've ever made...

Please at least watch the "conclusion" section (14:42)... and share / retweet / favorite the hell out of this video. It is very important more people see this, and I won't lie... I've lost a lot of revenue lately because of these issues, so I could use some viral traffic right about now :-)

Thanks for watching!

[AntVenom]

Can definitely say this is BY FAR the most well informed video on the matter. Truthfully a great video Jon, and nice to get a peak behind the scenes of how the "copyright holders" are able to respond to our disputes.

[YMS]

I feel like most people will ignore this video because it's the accurate version of reality and not the dramatic one. What you said was factual, but I would argue fair use for video games in court. They are transformative by nature.

[wrightd]

It's amazing how relevant this video is almost 7 years later.

Also, good work on getting the chapter system implemented.

[ADoseofBuckley]

The issue with your conclusion/solution is that it suggests that the appeals process works, or that a third party (YouTube or someone else) is involved in the decision. I have a number of videos with third party content claims (a large portion of my "Musical Autopsy" series), and when I appeal, I'm appealing to the content owner. Not YouTube. No one from YouTube reviews the video and says "Yeah, you know what? They're right, this is totally fair use" (which all of my videos would easily fall under). Instead, the content owner reviews the video... take a wild guess as to how Universal/Sony/Warner are going to decide. If there was a mediator, this process would be great. But there isn't. Imagine if you were arrested for theft, and the judge was also the plaintiff? That's what's going on here. Best case scenario is that companies aren't all that bothered to remove videos because, good or bad, they're making money from every view. YouTube's customer service continues to be non-existent (I get that it would be impossible with the number of uploads for them to get involved every time, but they're the one that created the site and the system, and their current solution is not fair to the site users at all).

[kaozbender]

The level of production this video has is just off the charts. Mad kudos to you, sir.

[torsrex]

Finally, one video that explains it all, not just parts of it. There's been so much misinformation going around, but the way you put it all neatly sorted and easily understandable, really helped me getting a better overview of not just what changed, but the entire content id system. I'll definitly be sharing this video with all of my friends and anyone that asks any questions about this!

[MMLCommentaries]

You asked me to tell you the differences between your video and StephenVlog's video on CID, so here ya go:

-Your video was a lot more concise and direct about what Content ID is and how to deal with it, while Stephen's video was more conversationalist and provide more explanations.

-Stephen's video focused far more on gaming because his main channel is a gaming channel while Jogwheel is a multimedia channel with all sorts of different shows. You focused on the bigger picture, he focused on one aspect of that bigger picture.

-Stephen also addressed how these new policies will affect YouTubers in the future, while you chose to elaborate on the appeal system instead.

-Having the Partner Content-ID page in the video REALLY helps.

-Obviously, your video is a bit more viewer friendly, being 1/4 the length of Stephen's video.

Good job! I learned a few new things from this video :D

[LGR]

Absolutely superb video on the Content ID fiasco. Great info.

[numeditationmusic]

I have this question for a long time! If you're a musician and you put your music in some music distributors, they will add it to content ID and they take a share of your adsense revenue for that service. Can we apply for content ID without paying for the service?

[classroomdj]

I viewed all sixteen minutes and five seconds of this presentation, and gained much knowledge from it. Thank you, Jon Paula, you are a fantastic commentator who easily summarizes essential information. I appreciate the thought placed within this work.

[ElectricDragon]

Okay, as a Youtuber myself, I'd like to put my input on this entire video because this could be the most informative one I've seen regarding this whole Content ID controversy.

Saying that this is one of your most important videos you've ever done is an understatement. This is the kind that should be on the main page of YouTube to inform people about what's going on. Well crafted and full of detail about not only how Content ID, but the ways to work around it with the servise they provide us (as of now). And to that, major kudos.

However, there are some things that I would like to address that seems a bit off for me, that there's a side to this chaos you might not fully understand.

The biggest red flag for me was when you mentioned that the Content ID system is not the problem and it doesn't really have problems. In a way, you're on Google's side when it comes to the system itself. Well, that's pretty logical considering that you have access to the system itself. Only a handful of people in the world, including yourself, big named youtubers and giant corporations, have the privilege to gain access to the system and have the benefits it would give you. There would be A LOT less complaints about if this is something that everyone can have access to. But, like I said, only you, big name youtubers and the big companies who are able to benefit from this while everyone else has to suffer the consequences. It's like if all the kids in the playground had pistols while you come in with a bazooka. Everyone will complain that they're at an unfair advantage, and they have the right to, but you won't complain because you have the bazooka.

And since you have the benefits of using the system and actually like the system, you might not see the big flaws it holds. For anyone with CMS, screwing someone over is just a click away and a robot does the rest. Copyright should be something that's handled by actual people considering laws like Fair Use exist for a reason. Robots don't know that, they just automatically detect when they found a match and do what the CMS user pleases which could make the the accuser pay. As a movie reviewer that uses clips from the movies yourself, you must find that something's wrong with that. Plus the fact of the many cases of frauds and ID claims that are not from the companies that made the product is just bad news for everyone and one of Content ID's biggest problem it has. Companies like Ubisoft and Capcom want to help out users and you sit there by saying it's their fault? Honestly, not cool.

But there's also the option on monetization on the CMS system where if they found a match, they'll play the video, but the company makes all the profit, not you. The worst is that if it's even just a 5-second clip on a 30-muhnite video, they make money, not you. Wouldn't it make sense to take a percentage of the profit, depending of how much of it was used and identified, rather that have the company to have all the profit from your hard day's work on making the video. That could be something that can solve ALL this and make everyone happy. You could find flaws on this ideology, but it will be less problematic than how it is right now.

Finally, there's the notion about fighting it over the disputes. I won't argue against it too much, you discussed it beautifully on what to do on this video, but you know that there's a lot more at risk when it comes to this? You make it sound like the worst thing could happen is that YouTube will make you stand in the corner. In reality, people would lose so many things, including, like you said, some of the features that YouTube would offer them, but also, if they're in a MCN, they could lose their contract with them . Not to mention that no many people know the inside outs of YouTube and are masters on the subject like you. Some could try, but the consequences will be dire to them and they won't know what to do and risk losing their channel. Not saying that this isn't a viable option to get rid of a Content ID claim, but there's more on the line than you mentioned on this video.

So to conclude this comment that turned into a bloody essay, this is an amazing video Jon, probably has more value than any episode of the Microwave series, but I just want to point out, as a YouTuber who posts content regularly, that maybe the Content ID system is not as glamorous as you portray it here. There are more ways that YouTube can solve this problem rather than going through that scary forest that is the dispute system.Take all this as you will, but this is just my say on this whole controversy as a Youtuber for some years and hopefully would be resolved sometime soon before it'll costs Google in the long run in a bad way.

[Technoguy]

My biggest problem is that whenever I upload anything covered under Fair Use, the revenue goes to the claimant until a million years later, at which point the video is probably no longer popular (most views come in the first week). So I am working on my content to earn money for the copyright holders even though I have legal rights to my video.

[gothatfunk]

holding the funds in escrow until disputes are resolved seems like an obvious way to improve things, for all parties, including youtube.

[GophersVids]

For me the problem is that often you will get 5 companies claiming they should own your video from now on. They cannot all own the copyright, and they cannot all monetize it. So how do you find out who really owns the copyright in the first place? I am convinced most of my failed disputes are from charlatans who simply do not own the copyright in the first place.

[GamerBaron]

This was one of the most well organized and polished videos you have ever made, and it was on a topic I was very interested in learning about because my friends want to start a gaming channel. Thanks, and well done Jon!

[Patashu]

This is one of the best laid out and supplemented (annotations, script, etc) videos I've seen in a long time. Keep up the great work :D

[CaptainSauce]

So just to be clear if one receives a matched third party content, you can file a dispute without risk of a strike? The worst case scenario is they reject your dispute and you're back to the same status as before?

[tenchiofJurai]

Thanks for this video, Jon. As an uploader of AMVs, PMV's, and mashups THIS video has helped me to be less afraid of the dispute system, which up until now had me worrying some corporate lawyers were gonna bang down my door if I even attempted to fight the system

[DaveVoyles]

Holy moly, this was, by far, the most useful explanation of ContentID yet. Wonderful job.