YouTube rolling out improved Content ID & new appeals process

YouTube is rolling out some nice improvements for content owners by announcing on the Official YouTube Blog some improvements to Content ID and a new appeals process for copyright claims. YouTube launched Content ID five years ago allowing content owners to upload reference files to automatically identify user-uploaded videos that contain content belonging to them. In a blog post, YouTube explained an updated appeals process would allow users to address rejected disputes related to claims detected by Content ID:

Users have always had the ability to dispute Content ID claims on their videos if they believe those claims are invalid. Prior to today, if a content owner rejected that dispute, the user was left with no recourse for certain types of Content ID claims (e.g., monetize claims). Based upon feedback from our community, today we’re introducing an appeals process that gives eligible users a new choice when dealing with a rejected dispute. When the user files an appeal, a content owner has two options: release the claim or file a formal DMCA notification.

On top of rolling out a major improvement to the matching tech that it uses to identify video matching the reference files uploaded by content owners, YouTube announced today that Content ID now includes improved detection specifically for unintentional copyright claims. YouTube is addressing the problem with an updated algorithm:

“we’ve improved the algorithms that identify potentially invalid claims. We stop these claims from automatically affecting user videos and place them in a queue to be manually reviewed. This process prevents disputes that arise when content not owned by a partner inadvertently turns up in a reference file.”