In the wake of ongoing controversy regarding the DRM system, YouTube has announced what it says is a solution that will allow videos to earn revenue while a Content ID claim is being disputed.
The Content ID platform is designed to enable content owners discover, and more importantly, receive compensation for any potential unauthorised use of their intellectual property on the online video service. However, despite mainly being used appropriately by authorised content owners, creators have complained that they are being plagued by ‘Content ID trolls’ making false claims.
To address this issue, YouTube is amending the Content ID system so that when both a creator and someone making a claim chooses to monetise a video, it will continue to run ads on that video and hold the resulting revenue separately. Once the Content ID claim or dispute is resolved, the online video giant will pay out that revenue to the appropriate party.
“We understand just how important revenue is to our creator community, and we’ve been listening closely to concerns about the loss of monetisation during the Content ID dispute process,” said David Rosenstein, YouTube Content ID group product manager. “Currently videos that are claimed and disputed don’t earn revenue for anyone, which is an especially frustrating experience for creators if that claim ends up being incorrect while a video racks up views in its first few days.
“At YouTube, one of our core values is a belief in the freedom of opportunity. We believe anyone should have the opportunity to earn money from the videos they create and turn their channels into successful businesses. We strongly believe in fair use and believe that this improvement to Content ID will make a real difference.”
In addition to its work on the Content ID dispute process, YouTube said it was also paying ‘close attention’ to creators’ concerns about copyright claims on videos they believe may be fair use.