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YouTube gives creators more control over copyright claim disputes with new update

YouTube gives creators more control over copyright claim disputes with new update

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An automatic trim feature helps directly tackle the problem

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Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

YouTube’s recent Studio update is finally giving people an easier way to deal with copyright claim disputes.

The new update now lets creators address copyright disputes directly from their digital back-end workspace and gives them the option to trim out the claimed content in question. The “Assisted Trim” option is the biggest feature rolling out with the new Studio update, with the “endpoints of the edit pre-set to where the claimed content appears in the video,” according to a Google product blog. The team is working to allow adjustable endpoints so creators can cut out the specific portion of their video that makes the most sense, but that isn’t available just yet.

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Copyright disputes between creators and music labels or third-party companies are a consistent problem on YouTube. The company has tried to work with different companies to ensure that creators aren’t constantly facing copyright claims, but it’s been a tedious battle. Earlier this year, creators specifically called out groups like Universal Music, which owns one of the largest catalogs of songs, for being overzealous with copyright claims.

YouTube rolled out a new policy update in July addressing concerns, noting that copyright owners like Universal now must state exactly where copyrighted material appears in a video, something they didn’t have to do before when reporting a case of copyright infringement.

Creators can also filter through their video feeds in Studio to specifically see which videos were hit with copyright claims — leading to demonetized statuses or blocked videos entirely — much more easily. In an effort to be more transparent, the YouTube team is also showing copyright strikes, which are different and far more severe than copyright claims, directly on their Studio Dashboard.

“We’re also providing more transparency about the content of the copyright takedown than ever before, now surfacing the specific description of the copyrighted work provided by the claimant in the takedown notice,” the blog post reads.

YouTube’s blog post also notes there are “many more updates” coming in 2020 that will help creators navigate copyright claim messiness that often plagues their experience. For now, the company is trying to make it easier to work with copyright claims, appeal ones they think are unfair, and keep a closer eye on what’s getting hit.