YouTube Lawyer Explains How To LEGALLY Protect Your Channel (YouTube Lawyer Explains)

Video Summary and Key Points:

Meet the Lawyer Saving YouTube Channels — Summary

Strikes are up. Copyright and Community Guidelines strikes are rising sharply; AI-driven detection likely reduced “grace” versus prior years.
YouTube won’t mediate copyright disputes. Even top creators are told to resolve copyright strikes directly with the rights holder.
Three-strike risk. Copyright strikes last 90 days (removing or trimming a clip no longer clears the strike). Hitting three within any overlapping 90-day window can cost you the channel—sometimes with limited review.
There is due process. Counter-notifications exist; if YouTube accepts your counter, the claimant has 10 days to file a lawsuit to keep the strike alive.

Claimant files a copyright takedown for specific videos (one form per video).
Creator may counter explaining why it’s improper (ownership, license, fair use, etc.).
YouTube decision: accepts or denies the counter.
If accepted, rights holder has 10 days to sue.
- If they do: YouTube may keep strikes off but keep the videos down pending the court outcome.
- If they don’t: strike goes away.

Claim: monetization redirect (often 30–40% to the rights holder); video stays up.
Strike: policy violation (unlicensed use, etc.); counts toward the 3-strike threshold and sits 90 days.

Community Guidelines: between YouTube ↔ creator (policy violations).
Copyright: between rights holder ↔ creator; YouTube mostly facilitates the process.

Not a magic shield. It’s a legal defense, weighed by four factors (transformation, market effect, amount used, purpose/character).
Commercial use and market substitution weigh against you.
Tiny clips can still draw strikes. (Anecdotally, <5s clips may upload more smoothly, but this is not legal protection.)

License what you use. Get written permission or a short, paid license (even $1 consideration + credit). Use reputable libraries (e.g., for music).
Run a clean business:
- Form an LLC; separate bank accounts.
- Carry general liability and media/defamation insurance.
- Trademark your channel/name early (avoid costly rebrands).
- Contracts for collaborators (work-for-hire or IP assignment). Videographers often own what they shoot unless assigned.
- Don’t misclassify employees as contractors; W-2 costs (payroll, workers’ comp) are cheaper than labor fines.
- Separate Google accounts per channel; one email tied to multiple channels can trigger platform-wide loss.
Thumbnails & photos: license famous/stock images (e.g., Getty, estates, known photographers are aggressive). When in doubt, license or use your own.
Have a “litigation fund.” At scale, disputes are a cost of doing business; proactive contracts are far cheaper than lawsuits.

Once AdSense is ~$2–5k/month, you should be able to afford: LLC setup, basic insurance, first trademarks, and contract templates.

Relying on “it’s always been fine” content habits as detection improves.
Assuming email “OK” is enough—get a signed license.
Sharing 50% AdSense informally with a friend/editor; later disputes are brutal without paperwork.
Letting an editor control raw footage with no IP assignment—can be “held hostage.”
Hosting multiple channels under one email; one small channel’s strikes nuked all five.

Audit your last 20 uploads for unlicensed video/music/photos.
Swap in licensed assets (music libraries; clip licensing houses).
Draft and countersign work-for-hire/IP assignment with editors, shooters, writers.
Register your trademark(s) (channel name, key series).
Split your channels across separate owner emails.
Get media insurance quotes; add general liability.
Create a strike response SOP: evidence folder, claimant contacts, counter-notice templates, and a shortlist of counsel.

Key Words Associated with this video: