Are you a new Youtuber? Do you want to learn to avoid copyright infringement? Then you’ve come to the right place.
This article will teach you how to avoid copyright infringement on a YouTube Gaming Channel.
There are a lot of videos and articles out there, but it seems like none of them give a correct and detailed answer about copyright infringement.
We’ve dealt with YouTube’s copyright infringement ourselves, and it’s not as bad as you think.
As long as you follow some simple tips and understand how the infringement works on a YouTube Gaming channel, everything will be just fine.
You must understand that you can’t claim someone else’s content as your own!
There are strikes just as in baseball, and if you get three strikes, you’re out. Meaning your channel will get terminated, and you don’t want that.
In this article, I’ll be talking about:
- What Copyright Infringement Is
- What Happens to Your Channel if you Infringe someone’s Copyright
- Tips to Avoid Copyright Infringement on your YouTube Gaming Channel
First, let’s explore exactly what copyright infringement is…
What is Copyright Infringement on a Gaming Youtube Channel?
Well, let’s start with a simple explanation of what copyrights are and how it works. Copyrights are what we call intellectual property rights, which make the creator of the content hold authorship over it. This gives the original creator protection that their work will not be stolen or misused.
The owner of the copyrights for a piece of content, whether it’s a song or a written piece, has complete control over it. They can choose where they want their work to be displayed or used, whether someone else can use it in their works or not.
For YouTube, Copyright Infringement goes a step further; it’s not only about a piece of written work, a picture, or music. The Copyright Act protects even the gameplay videos on a gaming channel.
A YouTube video is protected the same way as recording a television show or movie, songs by artists, pictures from a photographer, and more. A person cannot use the same gameplay of someone else’s on their channel and claim it as their own. YouTube will send a strike your way as soon as it’s able to detect it.
What happens if your Channel Infringes on Somebody else’s Copyright?
YouTube is strict with copyright infringement, whether you are doing the violation or someone else. The first thing they do is to take down the infringing video immediately. Then they give the violating channel a strike. Rest assured that there will be consequences.
When a channel receives three strikes, then YouTube will terminate your account forever and remove all your content from their platform, even those that didn’t violate copyrights.
Tips to Avoid Copyright Infringement on your YouTube Gaming Channel
Even though the Copyright Act is solid and well-thought-out, there might be instances where your content is detected wrongly. Learn how to avoid copyright infringement on your YouTube Gaming Channel with these tips.
1. Use Music that’s Copyright Free.
YouTube offers a plethora of copyright-free music that you can use in your videos. You can find these copyright-free songs from YouTube by clicking this link. You need to be logged in to your account, and then the link will redirect to the music library.
However, that’s not the only method of finding copyright-free music. There are also other ways of finding royalty-free music on the internet; you just have to make sure that it complies with the Copyright Act before using it on your content. Here’s an example of a website that offers music and sounds you can use on your videos without any problem.
2. Use Videos under the Creative Commons license.
YouTube offers you a way to use other content creators’ videos in your own channel; they need to be under the Creative Commons license. A Creative Commons license gives a standard way for content owners to provide others with permission to use their works.
If you scroll to the bottom of the description in a YouTube video, you will see ‘Creative Commons Attribution license (reuse allowed).’ If the video has this text, you’re free to use it, and there are no copyright infringements.
3. Get Permission from the Content Owner.
If you really want to use content from another creator in a video of yours then you can ask for permission. Make sure to explain in detail in what aspect you are going to use their material. Remember to be as polite and as nice as you can about asking for permission so that the owner’s chances of acceptance are increased.
Remember though, that even if you get the green light, they can always change their mind in the future. That means that your channel may be at risk of getting a strike if that happens so be careful. Also, you cannot monetize that video either way, so make sure that you actually need to include that content.
4. If you’re not sure if your Content Infringes on the Copyright of someone else’s, Don’t Post it!
It’s better to be safe than sorry. If you’ve edited a video that you’re not sure if it infringes the copyright of another content creator then it’s better to not post it at all. It’s not worth the risk of getting a strike on your channel.
Try to better understand how the Copyright Act works and what it considers violations of those rules. There’s a ton of content on the internet where you can learn more about the copyright rules on YouTube.
5. Watch the YouTube Copyright School Videos
YouTube does a great job of explaining what counts as a copyright infringement and what doesn’t with the help of the ‘Happy Tree Friends’ animated series. In the video, you’re going to see Rusell’s point of view and the road he takes until he understands about YouTube Copyright Act.
Watching this video is definitely a must for all new YouTubers. It’s going to give you all the necessary information in a cool and awesome format. This friendly explanation of the issue shouldn’t be taken lightly since it’s talking about a really serious topic.
6. Consult a YouTube Copyright Attorney
If you feel like you might have violated someone else’s rights by posting copyrighted content on your channel, you should consult a YouTube copyright attorney. They will tell you whether or not your actions were legal and if you can keep doing what you did.
A YouTube copyright lawyer will also advise you on the best ways to avoid infringing on the copyrights of others. The best thing to do would be to contact them before making any changes to your channel.
7. Use Fair Use Guidelines
Fair use guidelines allow creators to use copyrighted materials without having to ask permission first. These guidelines are set up by the United States Congress and they are meant to protect people who are creating works such as news reports, documentaries, criticism, teaching, parody, satire, research, and other similar types of activities.
The fair use guidelines are very simple:
1) Don’t copy too much of the original content.
2) Keep the amount of time used reasonable.
3) Provide proper credit to the original creator.
You can find out more about these guidelines here.
8. Do not Upload Content that isn’t your own.
This one should be fairly simple to understand, and that should be common sense to everyone but it’s amazing how many people don’t realize it. If you’re not the creator of the content you can’t use it on your channel. Simple as that.
Even if you’re just recording it on your phone, or you’re at the event and are taking videos there yourself. That still isn’t your content, and you shouldn’t share it on YouTube. You shouldn’t try to monetize and benefit from other people’s work.
9. Consult Your Country’s Law
Depending on which country you live in, there could be different laws regarding the usage of copyrighted material. For example, some countries prohibit the use of music in movies while others don’t.
In some countries, there are laws that protect the intellectual property rights of artists and authors. In the UK, the law requires that you obtain written permission from the author of a song or poem before you can use it in a film or TV show. Make sure you’re not breaking the law of your country regarding copyright.
10. Create your own Content
The best way to avoid copyright infringement it’s to create the content yourself. If you dedicate time to making the best content for your YouTube Gaming Channel, then you’re not going to have problems in the future. They don’t say that hard work always pays off for no reason.
Even though there are tons of free resources available online, it’s still possible to create your own high-quality content. You just need to take some time to think about what kind of content you want to produce.
Do you want to make tutorials? Do you want to share funny jokes? Or maybe you want to talk about something related to your niche? Whatever you decide, don’t forget to write down everything you plan to say so that you won’t miss anything.