ThheQuartering [11/2/2023]
Google has some of the world’s most advanced technology, ranging from advanced search algorithms, satellite imaging, to artificial intelligence. Which is why it’s surprising to see their video service, YouTube, so susceptible to copyright trolls and scammers. Even if you have written authorization to use background music, video clips, or sound clips, there is a good chance your scanned agreement will be met with silence. For nearly a decade scammers have monetized videos they do not own, with rights owners oblivious to the fact someone has pirated their film. More recently, YouTube’s copyright claims have turned from an enforcement mechanism for creators into a tool for scams and extortion.
A copyright claim is a way for the rights owner to tell YouTube their work has been pirated by someone else. The process, born out of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, is part of the notice-and-takedown system to remove copyright infringement from the internet. It is a pretty simple process where the alleged rights owner fills in some basic information then YouTube takes it from there. YouTube protects itself from millions in potential legal judgments under the safe harbor provision if they remove the infringing work. The other party has a chance to answer or provide proper licensing paperwork. YouTube may allow the alleged owner to remove the work or to take the monetizing dollars and keep up the video.
Those with too many copyright claims or strikes can be suspended, banned, prevented from uploading new videos, and prevented from monetizing their videos.
As mentioned above, YouTube has not prioritized user-friendly parts of the monetization and copyright process. Sometimes referred to as a copyright troll, someone can claim to own audio and visual clips with little to no verification form YouTube. In the same way a pirate can make money off of ads for uploading a popular film to the streaming service, a pirate can take a quieter route and claim ownership of a clip found in hundreds of YouTube videos. They file copyright claims and monetize the existing videos knowing a certain percentage of pages will not respond or will respond improperly.
Is it really that easy? Yes. One copyright troll might have dozens of YouTube accounts to prevent suspicions. If one account gets suspended for too many frivolous claims, the troll has backup accounts, potentially 100s.