How to avoid ‘Copyright Strikes’ – a guide for Content Creators

Authored by Gaurav Dagaonkar, Co-founder and CEO, Hoopr.

With rising incidences of copyright infringements, here is a complete guide for content creators to steer clear of these strikes and save themselves from the associated reputational and monetary losses.

Coming across a copyright strike is not rare today. In fact, instances of copyright claims are on the rise thanks to the exponentially growing content creation. The issue of copyright claims is not yet thoroughly researched and this coupled with little information and low awareness of the matter is putting content creators at risk of legal, monetary, and reputational losses. Not only is copyright Infringement illegal, but it can simply destroy the hard-earned reputation of creators in a moment. All social media platforms have their own copyright management tools, which could trigger claims for your video and audio used in your content.

In this article, we will take a look at how audio claims are generated and save yourself from the multiple ill effects associated with this undesirable phenomenon:

1) Start with Basics: The fundamental thing to avoid copyright claims is to know who has created the music and who is the owner of the music. Many times both can be the same but that is not always true; hence it’s better to secure information on both these aspects. Further, if you haven’t created something on your own nor have you purchased the content from the owner, using any such material can put you at risk of copyright strikes. In addition, many creators feel that if something is available freely on the internet they can use it without securing permission which is a wrong assumption. Even reproducing such content and sharing it on your social media platforms can lead to the infringement of copyright.

2) Secure Permission: To save yourself from copyright claims, it is recommended that you must secure the permission of original creators before using or sharing their content. In some cases, the permission can be secured simply by purchasing a subscription through a licensing platform or through a direct message to the rights holders, but in other cases, a full legal license has to be procured to safely use the content. In either case, you must have proof of consent so that you won’t face the hassles related to copyright claims later.

3) Infuse Creativity: Creativity is one of the most significant characteristics that not only guarantees success for content creators but also saves them from copyright strikes. Creators who boast higher levels of creativity usually don’t face issues such as piracy, plagiarism, or copying others’ works. By bringing exclusivity, uniqueness, and individuality to creations, you can easily sidestep the potential problems that might arise in the future because of the infringement of the copyrights of others.

4) Understand Legality: The intentional or unintentional infringement of the copyright can lead to damaging consequences for content creators. Hence, it is essential that creators thoroughly understand the concept of intellectual property and make themselves fully aware of the possible consequences arising from the infringement of these rights. The awareness and knowledge will help you in becoming original, using your own creativity, and importantly not falling prey to the temptation of copying someone’s work and sharing that among your circles without the necessary permission.

4) Using The Right Attribution: Whenever music is licensed/ sourced from an artist or a music licensing platform, it is recommended to mention the necessary credits so as to avoid any potential claims that you might face from copyright holders/ 3rd party.

5) Built-in Tools: Using the built-in tools available on various social media platforms is a very helpful feature and can also help you in keeping a safe distance from copyright claims. These tools allow you to share the content with your contacts with one-touch functionality and anything shared through these tools is not generally considered an infringement of copyright, on that respective platform. But using Built-in tools may restrict your content sharing ability to a specific platform as music might be protected on one platform but not on the other. Hence, it is advisable to purchase a subscription from licensing platforms that provides claim clearance across multiple platforms.

6) Quick Action: Whenever content creators face issues with claims, it is crucial to act promptly, as different platforms have varying claim policies with specific timelines for disputing claims. If a dispute is raised within the recommended timeline, the content owner does not face revenue losses and any monetisation collected during the claim resolution period is transferred to the appropriate party once the claim is resolved.

Copyright strikes need to be approached with the utmost care and attention. The best way to avoid these strikes is to fully understand the concept of copyright and then make use of the licensed/original content as much as possible. In case you plan to use or share someone else’s content, you must seek mutual understanding with the original creator.
In sum, by adopting the recommendations mentioned above you can dodge the damaging impacts of copyright strikes and continue to maintain your well-earned reputation among the target audiences.