YouTube Sued Over Use of Content ID System

Is YouTube’s Content ID System Causing Massive Copyright Violations?

YouTube finds itself in the middle of another big lawsuit as a class action lawsuit was recently filed in California by a group of music artists that include Grammy winners.  Maria Schneider is the named plaintiff on a class action filed against the technology giant’s management of its Content ID system.   

What Is YouTube’s Content ID System?

Content ID refers to a copyright infringement takedown system that is relatively automated that allows the owners of copyrighted works to monetize content that the system finds in other works as opposed to straight out have the content removed.  Using an automated system, a programmed bot skims other platforms for data and compares it to copyrighted data in its database to determine whether the protected work is being used in third-party content.  

In the copyright suit against YouTube, Plaintiffs allege that the issue is the fact that the Content ID system favors more well-known artists.  And as such, not only are the lesser known artists unable to capitalize and monetize their content in the same way, but they also have the added onus of having to police their own content and file takedowns in the traditional way of sending out multiple notices. 

Allegations the Content ID System Creates Copyright Infringement

Schneider and the other artists in the class action lawsuit allege that YouTube has failed to provide access to the Content ID system for all artists, and in not doing so, has committed copyright infringement because it allows rampant copyright infringement of lesser-known works to be committed in YouTube.  As such, Schneider and other plaintiffs allege that YouTube’s parent company, Google, is unfairly ignoring the rights of independent artists and other grassroots movements in the music industry. 

Specifically, the plaintiffs allege that YouTube is a “hotbed” of copyright infringement that aims to protect only the most powerful copyright holders.  YouTube’s continued failure to add the works of lesser-known artists to the database of Content ID makes it so that copyright violations of the same works may occur thousands of times.   

Is the Content ID System a Courtesy or a Safe Harbor Exploitation?

In response, Google had noted that the Content ID takedown system is not even required to be offered under federal copyright law, and that the Content ID system is as a mere courtesy to the music industry.  Google further argues that it is not purposely ignoring the lesser known works, but it is simply too difficult to stay abreast of all works being published.  As such, for a work to be entered into the Content ID database, works must meet certain criteria set by YouTube, which is typically only met by more successful copyright owners.    

By contrast, the plaintiffs argue that Google is exploiting a safe harbor, which is intended for internet service providers and server hosting companies, that provides protection by making it so that parties are not held liable for copyright infringement when users upload unlicensed content.  As such, the plaintiffs allege that YouTube is effectively rendering it into a loophole that allows for YouTube to leverage its position as a music streaming platform into forcing record labels, music publishers, and royalty collections into licensing deals much more favorable to Google and YouTube than to the music industry and artists. 

Key Takeaway Lessons from YouTube’s Implementation of Its Content ID System

Although YouTube maintains that its Content ID system is intended to help copyright owners and quash copyright infringement within its platform, a class action has been filed against YouTube for using the system because:

  • it does not include all copyrighted works in its database;

  • it seems to favor more well-known or famous copyright owners; and

  • it is accused of allowing rampant violations to occur against owners of lesser-known works.

For more insights on Copyright Litigation, see our Software & Copyrights Overview and Digital Arts Legal Solutions pages.

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Law, Blog, IP Litigation, Software & CopyrightsCeles Keene