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YouTube Copyright: Strikes, Content ID and Fair Use

· 10 min read · Estudio de Canales

Cover graphic for Estudio de Canales: stacked layers on a black background, with the article's headline in Spanish

Copyright on YouTube is enforced in two ways: the takedown request, which if valid removes the video and leaves a strike on the channel, and Content ID claims, which affect a specific video and do not usually affect the channel. To reduce the risk, use your own material, licensed material or public-domain material, and note where each asset comes from.

What copyright protects

It protects almost everything that can end up in a video, and it does so from the start. YouTube's help page explains it like this: when someone creates an original work, such as a YouTube video, they automatically become the copyright owner of that work and decide who else can use it. Spanish law puts it in other words: the intellectual property in a work belongs to its author “by the mere fact of its creation”, according to article 1 of the Spanish Intellectual Property Act (Ley de Propiedad Intelectual). That is why a photo or a song carrying no notice does not mean you can use it.

Two helpful nuances. YouTube's help page says that, to be protected, a work has to be original and fixed in a physical medium; Spanish law is broader and protects original creations “expressed by any medium or form, tangible or intangible” (article 10). And ideas, facts and processes are not subject to copyright. The list of what is protected is a long one: series, films and online videos, songs and other musical compositions, articles and books, paintings and posters, video games and software, among others.

The strike: the warning that counts against the channel

YouTube's help calls it a copyright strike (in its Spanish version, “falta por infracción de derechos de autor”), although many people simply say “strike” or “copyright notice”. It arrives when a rights holder sends a takedown request, which is a legal procedure, and YouTube considers it valid: the content is removed and the channel receives the strike.

This is how it escalates, according to YouTube's help page:

  • One strike: YouTube removes the content. If you complete Copyright School and the channel has fewer than three strikes, the strike expires 90 days after it was applied; otherwise it stays active.
  • Two strikes: the same steps apply, strike by strike.
  • Three strikes within 90 days: YouTube may terminate the account and all the channels associated with it. The content is no longer accessible and you will not be able to create other channels.

There are three ways to resolve a strike: complete Copyright School and wait those 90 days, ask whoever sent the request to retract it, or send a counter notification if you believe the content was removed by mistake or is covered by an exception, such as fair use. And one belief worth dispelling: deleting the video does not resolve it. The exception is the scheduled request, where YouTube's email gives you 7 days to remove the content and avoid the strike.

These strikes are different from those received for breaking the YouTube Community Guidelines, which have their own system of warnings and strikes.

Content ID: claims on a video

Content ID is a tool created by YouTube, not a legal procedure. It uses a database of audio and video files submitted by rights holders, and when a video is uploaded to YouTube it analyses it automatically; if it finds a match, the video receives a claim.

What happens next is decided by the rights holder's settings: block the video, monetise it with ads (sometimes sharing the revenue with whoever uploaded it) or just track its statistics, and this can vary from one country to another. According to YouTube, claimants tend to prefer monitoring or monetising to blocking, and receiving a Content ID claim does not normally result in a strike. What can end in a strike is disputing it without a valid reason, because the rights holder may respond with a takedown request. We cover what to do step by step when you receive one in Content ID claim: what it is and what to do.

Fair use, quotation and parody

“Fair use” is a concept in United States law. YouTube's help page on fair use explains that there it allows protected content to be used without the rights holder's permission under certain conditions, with examples such as commentary, criticism, research, teaching or news reporting. A judge assesses it case by case using four factors: the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the work, the amount and substantiality of the part used, and the effect of the use on the potential market.

Outside the United States, the approach changes. The same help page warns that, in the European Union, the use must fall within specific categories, such as quotations, criticism, reviews, caricature, parody and pastiche. In Spain, the Intellectual Property Act sets out those exceptions in its chapter on “Limits” (Límites), and two are of particular interest to a channel:

  • Quotation, in article 32. It allows fragments of other people's works that have already been made public to be included in your own work, “by way of quotation or for analysis, commentary or critical assessment”. But the same article adds that this use may only be made for teaching or research purposes, to the extent justified by that purpose and indicating the source and the author's name.
  • Parody, in article 39. The parody of a work already made public is not considered a transformation requiring the author's consent, as long as it does not create a risk of confusion with the work and no harm to the original work or its author can be inferred.

Nobody can tell you in advance whether your case fits. YouTube reminds you that, even if you believe your use is an exception, only a court can determine it, and that automated systems such as Content ID cannot determine whether something counts as fair use. If your video depends on other people's material, consult a professional before publishing it.

YouTube's help page also debunks four widely repeated myths: acknowledging the author does not automatically give you the right to use the work; neither does uploading the video non-commercially or for educational purposes; phrases such as “I don't intend to infringe these rights” do not give you the right to use the content; and even if it is only a few seconds, your video could receive claims.

How to reduce copyright problems

YouTube sums up the options for using protected content safely: having the use count as an exception, such as fair use or the public domain; getting permission from the rights holder; using it under the terms of a Creative Commons licence; and, for music, using the YouTube Audio Library or Creator Music. And it adds something worth remembering: none of those options guarantees you will avoid problems, such as a strike or a Content ID claim.

In practice, a channel can work like this:

  1. Your own material first. Your script, your voice, your photos and your recordings are the safest foundation. But if someone else's music can be heard in a recording of yours, YouTube reminds you that its rights holders have to give you permission to upload it.
  2. Licences read, not assumed. Before using an image or a track, check what its licence allows: commercial use, modifications, attribution. We explain it in copyright-free photos for videos and in copyright-free music for YouTube.
  3. Source noted. A list with each asset, where it comes from, who its author is and under what licence you use it. If a claim reaches you, you will know straight away whether you have the rights to dispute it.
  4. Public domain, with the dates checked. In Spain, exploitation rights last, as a general rule, for the author's lifetime and seventy years after their death. YouTube warns that checking that a work is in the public domain is the responsibility of whoever uploads it.
  5. AI images, separately. YouTube points out that copyright in AI-generated works is a complex and evolving area of law, and that it generally protects human creations. We discuss it in AI images and copyright.

What the Estudio de Canales does (and does not do)

The Estudio de Canales does not decide for you whether you can use something, but it does require you to put it in writing:

  • Every asset has a source. The scene images are generated with AI or are your own assets, each with its licence and source noted.
  • An image of your own does not get in without a source and a licence. When you upload it you have to write both.
  • What is generated with AI is identified with the provider and the model that made it, and with a note that it is used under the provider's terms of use.
  • No licence noted, no package. A scene does not pass its review if any of its assets is missing the licence or the source, and the package to upload is not prepared while one is missing. It is enough for them to be written down: the studio does not verify them.
  • The package puts it in writing. It includes a licences file, and the description the studio proposes has a “Recursos de terceros” (Third-party assets) section with the source and licence of each image or clip you have uploaded.
  • The AI is asked to avoid sensitive material. The storyboard asks for visuals without brands, without recognisable real people or celebrities and without logos, and each image is requested without text, logos or watermarks.

What it does not do: it does not check that the licence you write is true or that it covers YouTube, it does not query Content ID, it does not manage claims or strikes (that stays in YouTube Studio, where you upload the package yourself) and it does not add music to the edit. Nor is it legal advice: if a video depends on other people's material, the decision and the responsibility lie with whoever publishes it.

Sources consulted

Checked on 11 October 2026. We link to the original source so that you can consult the current text.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between a strike and a Content ID claim?

A strike arrives when YouTube removes a video following a valid takedown request and it counts against the channel: three within 90 days can lead to its termination. A claim is generated by Content ID when it detects material belonging to a rights holder and affects that video; it does not normally result in a strike.

Can I use a fragment of a song if I credit the author?

Acknowledging authorship does not automatically give you the right to use the work, and YouTube warns that even if it is only a few seconds, your video could receive claims. For music, the simplest option is the YouTube Audio Library or a track with a licence that covers your use.

Does fair use apply in Spain?

Fair use is a concept in United States law. As YouTube explains, in the European Union the use must fall within specific categories, such as quotations, criticism or parody; in Spain, the “limits” in the Intellectual Property Act (Ley de Propiedad Intelectual). If your case is unclear, consult a professional.

Does deleting the video remove a copyright strike?

As a general rule, no. Only if the takedown request is scheduled do you have 7 days to remove the content and avoid the strike; YouTube says so in the email it sends. In all other cases, the strike is resolved by completing Copyright School and waiting 90 days, with a retraction or with a valid counter notification.

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