YouTube’s New Legal Support for Creators is Good for Influencer Marketing

YouTubers got unexpected but very welcome support for their creativity this week when the Google-owned site announced financial support to help defend unjust copyright takedown requests leveled against creators. The video-sharing site is offering up to $1 million per case to cover legal fees if they feel the request doesn’t have merit. 

Up until now, YouTube has immediately complied with takedown requests even when the videos would typically fall under the tenets of “Fair Use” protection. The new policy will allow videos to remain live on the site during the legal process if YouTube plans to support the creator.

Copyright holders have been aggressively using the Digital Millennium Copyright Act to force videos they claim infringe on their rights off YouTube and the process is so common that it’s become automated. While that a law was designed to stem Internet piracy, the range of videos affected by this campaign is enormous, from political ads to creative parodies, and even clearly non-commercial home videos of children. YouTube even compiled this list of example videos that show the type of video that needs protection, including the highly geeky one below.

What’s Good for Creators is Great for Influencer Marketing

With the addition of YouTube Red and threats from Twitch to steal their audience, the video giant has all the more reason to support creators and ensure their creative vision isn’t hindered. Without the freedom to create and repurpose existing content, creators cannot grow audiences and be part of influencer marketing campaigns brands are increasing using to promote their products and services. As it is, YouTube has a spotty history with copyright protection for creators and influencers themselves, even allowing ContentID hackers to make a profit from claiming partial copyright of videos uploaded to the site in the past. With 400 minutes of video being uploaded to the site per minute, it can be difficult to track every video and who owns what.

Additionally, YouTubers cannot actually ask for their $1 million bucks to defend their homemade video directly. Instead, YouTube will be doing their own monitoring to find videos they think are worth defending. Considering how YouTube’s history of getting a little press attention when they have poked at copyright holders to back down, it’s reasonable to expect they will be quick selective about which videos they believe deserve their day in court. Game reviewer Jim Sterling is one of the first videos getting support from YouTube and the video is question is still live on the site.

Ultimately, it’s still for good creators and the brands looking to partner with them on influencer marketing campaigns because copyright holders will know they can’t just push creators around because that little video they pick on may just be the one YouTube decides to make into an example.