Youtube copyright claim: How fake video aggregators are claiming public videos [Case Study]

Ever received a copyright claim on a video that was in the public domain? And what did you do? Did you reclaim it or just submitted to the claim? Do you know there are fake video aggregators like the site I have mentioned below that just want to earn through your views? Keep on reading to know how to deal with them.



This study was not intended but an unusual event occurred yesterday and therefore I have to write this one.

I have a youtube channel pointraiser.com and I uploaded a video of ‘Lion seen in Karachi’ on the channel. The video was obviously not mine. It was uploaded by pakwheels, Karachi times, and numerous other pages on social media and youtube. So, I just uploaded it on my channel and it was trending. I had received around 16,000 page views in 10 days (not much but good enough).

Newsflare youtube channel tried to claim the video

First Email by Youtube:

Hi Point Raiser,

A copyright owner using Content ID claimed some material in your video.

This is just a heads up
Don’t worry. You’re not in trouble and your account standing is not affected by this.

There are either ads running on your video, with the revenue going to the copyright owner, or the copyright owner is receiving stats about your video’s views.

Note: Your video was manually reviewed by the copyright owner or someone on behalf of the copyright owner.

• Video title: WOAH! Lion Spotted on the Streets of Karachi Pakistan - Never Seen Before Video!
• Claimed by: Newsflare (Rightster)

What's next?
If there are no problems, you don’t need to take any action. You don't need to delete your video.
If something went wrong and the copyright owner or our system made a mistake, we have a dispute process. Only use it if you’re confident you have the rights to use all the content in your video.

- The YouTube Team

Also read: Four accounts terminated on Google Play and what I learned

Yesterday a website newsflare.com, claimed that this video was theirs. I had no idea how a United Kingdom based website can claim a video that was shot in Karachi karimabad area.

MY EMAIL to YOUTUBE on Dispute:

Hi Point Raiser,

The following claim on video WOAH! Lion Spotted on the Streets of Karachi Pakistan - Never Seen Before Video! has been disputed:

• Video title: WOAH! Lion Spotted on the Streets of Karachi Pakistan - Never Seen Before Video!
• Claimed by: Newsflare (Rightster)

Reason for dispute: All non-original content is in the public domain

• I have a good faith belief that the claim(s) described above have been made in error, and that I have the right(s) necessary to use the contents of my video for the reasons I have stated.
• I am sure that I own all rights to the audio and visual content in this video, and I want to dispute this claim.
• I understand that my video will be viewable by the claimant(s) so that they can review my dispute.
• I understand that filing fraudulent disputes may result in termination of my YouTube account.

Authorized signature: Muhammad Sharjeel Ashraf

You are receiving this email as confirmation that we have received your dispute. Newsflare (Rightster) has up to 30 days to review the information you provided and take action.

If Newsflare (Rightster) agrees with your dispute, they can release the claim at any time. If they disagree, they can choose to uphold it, and the claim will remain active on your video. Learn more about disputes.

Sincerely,
The YouTube Team

Anyways, as should have been done, I appealed the claim that this is not Newsflare video and is available in public domain. The claim was made in the morning and I was fine with it. The youtube email said that I will get a response of the video by August.

So i got busy with other stuff. At night, (day time in UK) I received another email from Youtube that the appeal has been rejected by the claimant.

YOUTUBE EMAIL: CLAIM REJECTED

Hi Point Raiser, After reviewing your dispute, Newsflare (Rightster) has decided that their copyright claim is still valid. Video title: WOAH! Lion Spotted on the Streets of Karachi Pakistan - Never Seen Before Video! Claimed by: Newsflare (Rightster) Why this can happen The copyright owner might disagree with your dispute. The reason you gave for disputing the claim may have been insufficient or invalid. - The YouTube Team

Obviously the video was not NewsFlare.com's so why was the website so bent on getting this video under its name? This is treachery.

So I dared and 'reinstated my appeal'. 

How the Youtube Claim policy works:

As per youtube, if it is the first claim then the claimant has the option to keep the video on your channel and just earn revenue from it. This means you won't get the revenue (it has happened to me before).

But if it is the second time, then you will get a strike and the video will be taken down from your account. I appealed the second one. So if I fail, I will have a strike on my channel. two more strikes and I am OUT!

Anyway, as the claim was invalid by Newsflare.com - Newsflare (Rightster)- this happened the next day.

Youtube Email:

Hi Point Raiser, Good news! After reviewing your dispute, Newsflare (Rightster) has decided to release their copyright claim on your YouTube video. Video title: "WOAH! Lion Spotted on the Streets of Karachi Pakistan - Never Seen Before Video!" If you earned any money during the dispute, you should receive that money as part of your next YouTube payment. - The YouTube Team

So the claimant had backed off!!!

But why did it? And the question is why did Newsflare claimed the video, which did not literally belong to it?

The answer is these fake news aggregators are earning money from it.

They find videos online and then they claim those free videos available under public domain so no one else can earn from them.

Dirty business!

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