Over the years, YouTube has become a huge platform for content creators. Over the years, it has seemed like the copyright system on YouTube was stacked against creators, with no real fair use protection against bogus copyright claims. Now, YouTube is finally doing something about it with a new fair use policy, which will see Google offer defence in court if necessary.

YouTube has already pledged to protect some of the best examples of fair use, which includes critique, news, or remixes. The idea is that by being willing to offer legal help in court, copyright holders will be less inclined to abuse the Content ID system to silence critics or claim content unfairly.

In a post outlining the new policy, Google wrote: “We are offering legal support to a handful of videos that we believe represent clear fair uses which have been subject to DMCA takedowns. With approval of the video creators, we’ll keep the videos live on YouTube in the U.S., feature them in the YouTube Copyright Center as strong examples of fair use, and cover the cost of any copyright lawsuits brought against them.”

“We’re doing this because we recognize that creators can be intimidated by the DMCA’s counter notification process, and the potential for litigation that comes with it. In addition to protecting the individual creator, this program could, over time, create a “demo reel” that will help the YouTube community and copyright owners alike better understand what fair use looks like online and develop best practices as a community.”

Now Google does also say that it can't offer legal protection to every video creator or protect every unfairly claimed video, but it hopes that by at least taking stance, copyright abuse will be discouraged.

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KitGuru Says: This does mean that a lot of larger channels will be protected but hopefully YouTube will also make an effort to stick up for smaller channels, which could have their growth stunted by a few bogus copyright claims. 

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