Copyright strike basics

This content is about copyright strikes. If you're looking for info about Community Guidelines strikes, which are different than copyright strikes, go to our Community Guideline strikes basics.

If you get a copyright strike, it means that a copyright owner submitted a complete and valid legal takedown request for using their copyright-protected content. When we get this type of formal notification, we take down your video to comply with copyright law.

A video can only have one copyright strike at a time. Keep in mind that videos can be removed from the site for reasons other than copyright. Also, Content ID claims don't result in a strike.

Deleting a video with a strike won’t resolve your strike. Learn how to resolve a copyright strike below.

What happens when you get a copyright strike

We all make mistakes. When you get a copyright strike, it acts as a warning. The first time you get a copyright strike, you’ll need to go through Copyright School. Copyright School helps creators understand copyright and how it’s enforced at YouTube.

Copyright strikes may affect your ability to monetize. In addition, if your active live stream is removed for copyright, your access to live streaming will be restricted for 7 days.

If you get 3 copyright strikes:

Your account, along with any associated channels, is subject to termination.
All the videos uploaded to your account will be removed.
You can't create new channels.

Courtesy Period

If your channel is part of the YouTube Partner Program, you're eligible for a 7 day courtesy period. After 3 copyright strikes, you'll have 7 additional days to act before your channel is disabled. During this period, your copyright strikes won’t expire and you can't upload new videos. Your channel will remain live and you can access it to seek a resolution for your strikes. If you submit a counter notification, your channel won't be disabled while the counter notification is unresolved. If the counter notification is resolved in your favor, or the claim is retracted, your channel won't be impacted.

How to get info about your strike

Sign in to YouTube Studio.
From the left menu, click Content .
Click the filter bar Copyright.
In the Restrictions column, hover over Copyright.
Click SEE DETAILS.

Resolve a copyright strike

There are three ways to resolve a copyright strike:

Wait for it to expire: Copyright strikes expire after 90 days. If it's your first strike, you'll need to complete Copyright School.
Get a retraction: You can get in touch with the person who claimed your video and ask them to retract their claim of copyright infringement.
Submit a counter notification: If you think your video was removed by mistake, or qualifies as fair use, you can submit a counter notification.

Watch to learn more

Check out the following video from the YouTube Creators channel to learn the basics of copyright strikes.

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