I hit 10K subscribers on YouTube!
From my Comedy YouTube channel
And I passed 5 million total video views!
Watch my other parodies!»I went to YouTube Copyright School
written by JoshRimer.com on May 24th, 2011
YouTube has recently launched the YouTube Copyright School, a kind of detention class where violators of YouTube’s copyright rules are sent. The school essentially dumbs down copyright rules as played out by Happy Tree Friends (Mondo Media) in four-minute videos, and then requires you to answer a multiple-choice type of test reviewing the lessons taught in the video. Supposedly if you have a copyright violation on your account you can get it removed by passing the test.
I took it because I got a copyright violation in 2008 when my brother & I made a parody of So You Think You Can Dance and I used their logo and opening music in it. The strike against my account didn’t do much other than restrict me from being able to have unlisted videos (which I don’t really understand the reasoning behind). It may have also kept me from being one of the first to try out new features like YouTube Live (which I actually still don’t have the ability to do yet, so I continue on BlogTV on Wednesday evenings). YouTube has a three strikes and your out rule, so I had to be pretty careful about what else I uploaded after that.
To avoid this situation I suggest you simply stick to the copyright rules and regulations on YouTube and check with the guidelines for users and content creators whenever you’re unsure about uploading a video where you use anything you haven’t created yourself. Of course, there are some situations that fall under Fair Use, so it’s often up to your own judgement when you’re making a parody if you remake the music/logo/etc (ie. decide yourself or consult a lawyer).
If you do upload something you aren’t supposed to you risk getting flagged by the owner of that content (ie. music, video, photo, etc). A web form is now accessible for all users to fill up whenever they find out that someone used their work (or a part of their work) without permission and send that to YouTube. Plus there’s the Content ID system which can automatically detect things like music and video footage almost as soon as it goes up. If caught, you’ll receive a notification about it, and have the option to counter the complaint, which they say you better be sure about before you do. If proven wrong and you keep doing it, then your account will likely be suspended or shut down. And of course even worse than that, you could be sued by the content owner.
So, I took YouTube’s test for copyright and got 100%. Yay me! Unfortunately, my copyright strike remained. A couple weeks passed and nothing changed, but I went to a YouTube Partners meetup in Seattle shortly afterwards and one of the YouTube staff told me to email Partner support and ask to contact the company who had filed the violation. I did that, and after some back and forth between them, myself, and YouTube, the strike was removed! I’m now 100% strike free. Ahh, feels good to be cleansed. 
According to YouTube, the copyright school was their way of “softening” YouTube’s three-strike’s rule. I think the YouTube school could be a good way to increase awareness among YouTubers and to correct them about things they may actually think they’re doing right when they’re not. And at least it’s good to know that simply emailing an apology and request for removal can work too!
Facebook Comments:
Lol…wel, at least they don’t just blackball you right off the bat….does google have something similar?
I’m not sure what Google has for websites, but last I heard, if they feel you’re violating their rules in some way, they just kick you out of search and that’s that!
The youtube’s attractive for me is all the copyrighted material I can find there. Sometimes I miss some tv show and I always able to find it on youtube.
It isn’t right, I know. But the school seems like a good idea.
Thanks for the good copywriting tips Jost, I learned a ton from this one post.
You Rock
That’s crazy that they would strike your account for such a minor thing. Shouldn’t that fall under Fair Use? These rules need to change if we’re going to keep internet creativity.
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Ya, but since I used the actual intro music and an altered version of their logo, it pushed the line a bit too far I guess. YouTube does give you the chance to appeal when you get the strike, but they make it seem like if you appeal it and lose you’ll be even worse off so I didn’t take the chance.
Wow youtube has its own defensive driving course now! This might be this weeks sign of the apocalypse. Whats up with the cartoons. Pretty patronizing imo. Funny but patronizing. And ftr Youtube was built on people using things they did not have the rights for…
Cheers!
I can’t believe YouTube created this school. However, I agree that it’s smart. YouTube is getting bigger and with all the different users doing what they can do to get a high number of views, this is good. Hopefully I never get sent to this >.<
Some time ago when Youtube wasn’t so huge monster they didn’t place so much emphasis on copyrights.
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Nice Video!!I am really amazed with youtube!!Thank for the update…
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Whoa!!Thanks for the video you have shared us in this post…
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That is good for you!!I hope I can go to a school like that too…
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lol, I guess its better than getting youtube dentention. I will probably make copyright school before too long.
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I am looking forward to enroll to a youtube school too…LOL…Anyway, I like the video you have here for us…
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sometimes you tube is very useful one and it helps sometime too.
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In the old days they were pretty brutal, the didn’t really even issue a warning. I had a corporate logo accidentally in the background of a video and they shut it down – it took me a while to figure it out!
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Learning is very essential and beneficial no matter at what age you learn. Thanks for sharing great stuff like that video, keep up the good work.
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Hey Josh,
I got a bit confused with where to comment and two of my comments went to facebook without maybe showing here. If they show above in the end then it won’t matter that much but I’ll be more careful the next time.
Not to repeat what I already said (YT school is great) I’ll comment on something else that I noticed is going on on YouTube.
They are changing things around quite a bit and it appears that for the better. But in the meantime the view counts don’t seem to be correct.
There are some weird people on YouTube that dislike just about anything as a principle. There are a lot of outstanding videos that are funny, well made and yet a lot of people dislike them. I see no reason for that.
And people you likely are disturbed like a guy I recently caught doing the following to me and hosts of others: subscribing to people only to unsubscribe as soon as they return the favor.
How can anyone think that it will work for them in the long run?
Luckily the good people on YouTube still outnumber those who need to get a life about 23 to 1.
I wonder what you think about this.
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Hey Josh,
I just want to correct one word that for an unknown reason appears as “you” and which I meant to be “who”.
It’s in the fifth paragraph of my comment above which should read: And people who likely are disturbed…
The way it appears above changes the meaning and that is not the meaning I intended at all.
Cheers,
Vance.
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Great news! Thank you for sharing.
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Learning is very essential and beneficial no matter at what age you learn. Thanks for sharing great stuff like that video, keep up the good work.
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How interesting, I’ve never even heard of this YouTube copyright school thing! That’s a good idea though, and at least it makes it more understandable than sending some nasty emails listing copyright rules.
Ooh! That’s really great! I’ve been wondering why, when I uploaded a video, the music didn’t play. And then I had to choose from these crappy free music they have to change it with! Now I understand why!
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There are some weird people on YouTube that dislike just about anything as a principle. There are a lot of outstanding videos that are funny, well made and yet a lot of people dislike them. I see no reason for that. |
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Great tips. Kudos of this.
Lol what a funny idea! Basically like traffic school for YouTubers. I think this is a really good service for YouTube to offer, it gives unintentional policy infringers a chance to start over while clarifying the rules in a memorable way.
I think this is a great idea! It’s the same principle as traffic school, and I think it’s great that they are giving copyright violators a chance to atone for their mistakes. That being said, I hope I don’t ever have to go to YouTube Copyright School!