YouTube makes it easier for Creators to resolve manual Content ID claims

Today YouTube is making two changes that should make it easier for creators to resolve manual Content ID claims: time stamps showing exactly what part of the video content is claimed, and automatic release of claims if they are edited to remove the claimed content.

Content ID is a tool available to copyright holders that own the rights to a "substantial body of original material that is frequently uploaded by the YouTube user community."  Claims can be made by YouTube's automatic matching system or manually. The copyright holders can choose one of three options:

• Block the video from being viewed (either in specific countries or worldwide)
• Monetize the video (in some cases, like cover videos, revenue is shared with creators)
• Track the video's viewership and other stats

Creators can dispute a Content ID claim if they believe the claim was incorrect, or if they have the rights to use the content. You can see any copyright claims on your videos at www.youtube.com/my_videos_copyright or the Video Copyright Info page in YouTube Studio.

For YouTube Partners, disputed videos continue to show ads, with funds held separately while the dispute is resolved.

There are two changes for manually claimed videos, starting today:

1. Copyright holders are now required to provide timestamps for the exact part of your video being manually claimed

And YouTube says they will be enforcing this requirement:

We’ll be evaluating the accuracy of these timestamps. Copyright owners who repeatedly fail to provide accurate data will have their access to manual claiming revoked.

Timestamps are already included when video content is automatically claimed.

2. You can use the YouTube editor to remove the claimed content, and that will release the claim

YouTube offers several editing options that let you remove the claimed content from your video

• Completely mute the claimed segment of your video
• Replace the claimed audio with free music from YouTube's Audio Library
• Remove the claimed segment of video using the "Trim" option 

Note that there are some limitations to the editing process:

• The editor can only be used on videos less than 6 hours long 
• If your video has more than 100,000 views, you may not be able to save the edits (unless your channel is in the YouTube Partner Program). You may be able to save as a new video.
• You may only swap in one audio track from the Audio Library.
• Trimming your video following an audio swap may result in your video being muted.

Ideally, you only use music (or video clips) that you have express written permission or a licence to use. If you do that, you can dispute incorrect claims. 

Additional information 

• Announcement: More information and better tools to resolve Content ID Claims
• YouTube Help: What is a Content ID Claim?
• YouTube Help: What is a Manual Claim?
• YouTube Help: Dispute a Content ID claim
• YouTube Help: Remove claimed songs from videos
• YouTube Help: Swap the audio track on your video
• YouTube Help: Trim your videos