YouTube: Content ID Matches, An Easier Dispute Process

I got an email from YouTube that said that my video WBZ Hawaii Five-0 Behind the Scenes, may have content that is owned or licensed by rumblefish.

I read that and thought, "I don't know a band called rumblefish, and I'm not using music from a band called rubmblefish, so some computer program must have misidentified the music."

I was wrong. rumblefish is a music licensing store.

Note:
According to the Dallas Observer, Rumblefish is "One of the area's best cover bands." LOL!

YouTube did a good job of finding the music track I used in this video, Secrets in Stereo, Not Today.

Josh Ryan of Secrets in Stereo has given me permission to use his music in my videos. He even sent me instrumental tracks to use.

Here's the email I got from YouTube:

help center | e-mail options | report spam

Dear stevegarfield,
Your video, WBZ Hawaii Five-0 Behind the Scenes, may have content that is owned or licensed by rumblefish.
No action is required on your part; however, if you are interested in learning how this affects your video, please visit the Content ID Matches section of your account for more information.
Sincerely,
- The YouTube Team

I clicked on the Content ID Matches section of your account to learn more.

You then see a page with all your disputed videos, here's what one of mine looks like.



Click 'View Copyright Info'.

You're then presented with this page:



I filled it out, checking off box #1, still thinking that I was using music that wasn't a match, and entering an electronic signature.

When I hit CONTINUE, I got the same screen back that said "All Fields Required."



So even though I thought the wording wasn't exactly right, I changed my check off to #3 from #1 because it seems that the programmer requires the text field: "Please explain briefly:" to be filled out. Here's what I wrote to explain it:

3. This video uses the copyrighted material at issue, but with the appropriate authorization from the copyright owner.
I have permission from Josh Ryan of Secrets in Stereo to use this music. It is NOT Rumblefish.
Signature
Steve Garfield

At this point I still thought rumblefish was a band name. ;-)

Then the form says to type this text into the 'Statement of Good Faith' box:

"I have a good faith belief that the material was disabled as a result of a mistake or misidentification, and that I am not intentionally abusing this dispute process."

Then you are presented with Dispute Claim (Step 2 of 2) - Confirmation:



I clicked Submit Dispute.

You then get a page back that says: Dispute Status: Submitted.



Your video is then removed from your COntent ID Matches page.

This is a lot easier than getting involved in a whole Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown process.

I'd suggest that YouTube make 'rumblefish' a clickable link so that content creators could click over and search for the music they are using to determine if they are using it in error or not.

Hopefully this easy way of submitting information will be improved in page 1 form entry and continue to make it easier for content creators to dispute claims that have been placed against videos in error.

Elsewhere on the web:
[Video] How to Dispute YouTube Copyright Notices (Content ID System)
Fair Use Tube.org

Welcome to Fair Use Tube.org! This is a site for user-generated video creators to learn how to protect their "fair use" rights under U.S. copyright law on video sharing sites such as YouTube, Vimeo, Blip.tv, Metacafe, and Dailymotion.

EFF