So, just got hit by more bogus Copyright Claims on Youtube. Worst batch yet.
If you didn't know, Youtube's policy on Copyright Claims allows just about anyone to file one on behalf of another party ("Funimation" even filed one against themselves:
Link), you are assumed to be guilty until you can prove yourself innocent. You also only get one shot to contest a Copyright Claim, unless you want to escalate to a court battle. And if you do escalate, you risk hundreds of dollars in fines, as well as losing your channel and content forever.
Anyway, I did the necessary homework as I have before, and put together a letter contesting the claim for Youtube's legal team. It explained that what I did was a Transformative work according to Fair Use (complete with citations and links for further reading), and considered my own content by US Copyright Law; I was free to broadcast and even sell the content, if I wanted to. Their response? A series of canned letters denying my claim, as "Creative Commons doesn't apply to your content," which 1) I already knew, B) wasn't a license I even mentioned, and III) is completely irrelevant to the situation. And then they linked me to their insulting
Copyright School video. Again.
Basically they upheld their claim without even reading my reply, and as my only chance to contest it, I was already pretty livid. But the cherry on top? One of the videos which they denied my claim on? Which they said would be illegal to run advertisements on, to raise money for my channel? Youtube took my content, and started running their own ads on it, to raise money for themselves. Despite that this flies in direct violation of using
my copyrighted content (featuring my likeness, my voice, my shitty jokes, and my critical commentary). And because Youtube effectively has a monopoly on the HD Video Streaming Industry... an Industry worth 45 Billion Dollars? Which produces 3 days of content for them every minute, and does this for them for free? And because most of those people are like me, and just want to entertain people, and can't afford a legal team to protect their creativity? Because of these things, I have no recourse... nor am I willing to risk my meager success just to call them on their bullshit.
Bigger channels like SmoshGames, the Yogscast, and even PewDiePie, upload the same kind of content I do, and even monetize it with advertisements, yet they are given a wide berth. They're under the protection of
The Game Station and
Maker Studios, which have paid legal teams that can actually afford to take this Copyright bullshit to the Courtroom. So Youtube doesn't push their crap Copyright Claims on them. But for the innumerable folks in my position, small fries who don't earn a living off Youtube Content, and can't afford a Legal Team to protect themselves and their content? We're being taken advantage of.
Yet another sign that Copyright Reform is something we desperately need. And that I should have taken that
Network Deal while I had the chance. >_<;