YouTube has a copyright problem. While the platform’s AI-powered content ID prevents illegal uploads of copyrighted material, it often hits legitimate creators with copyright claims even if they haven’t violated YouTube’s guidelines. Fortunately, the company is adding a new verification tool that can help you identify potential copyright claims before a video is posted and avoid blocked or demonized videos – or worse.

To use the new review tool, just open YouTube Studio on your desktop and upload your video as you normally would. YouTube’s Content ID searches for copyrighted material as it is uploaded and analyzes the video’s content, description, and metadata for “Ad Eligibility“Problems.

According to YouTube, the copyright scan only takes a few minutes, while the ad suitability check takes longer. It is best to post the video after the reviews are complete. However, users can post videos while the reviews are in progress and review them later.

Once the verification process is complete, you will see green check marks if you pass or yellow / red warnings if there is a problem with your video.

If you get a notification, don’t worry. These are preventative notifications that you can use to troubleshoot issues before a video is published. Claims against you will only take effect after the video is posted. So edit or dispute your video to avoid a demonstration, blocked or removed videos, and other copyright claims that could harm your channel.

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What to do if you receive a copyright or ad eligibility notice?

Copyright warnings

For copyright claims you can:

  • Use YouTube Studio’s built-in editing tools to trim, mute, or replace the highlighted portion of the video.
  • Edit a new version of the video and upload it again, removing the copyrighted area.
  • Deny the claim. In this case, the advertising revenue will be held until the dispute is resolved.
  • Publish the video without fixing the issues. This can affect visibility and ad revenue goes to the rights holder if you don’t repair or dispute the claim. In some cases, videos can be blocked if the copyright claims are severe enough and not taken into account.

Ad Eligibility Warnings

If your video is tagged with an ad eligibility warning, you can either update the video and / or its metadata to resolve the issue or dispute the claim.

YouTube’s official announcement post Provides guidelines for updating metadata and editing the content of your video to resolve ad suitability issues.

If you dispute the ad eligibility warning, a real person will review your video against YouTube’s ad eligibility guidelines and email you when a judgment is made. This can take several days.

It is important to note that videos are only scanned for potential content ID claims the first time they are uploaded. Manual copyright infringement can also occur after a video has been published. Future ad suitability issues are possible if changes to YouTube’s ad policies make your metadata out of date. Even so, YouTube hopes the new reviews will make it easier to process Content ID claims.