What is the DMCA? Essential Strategies on How to Avoid DMCA Takedown Requests and Stay Compliant
Jourdan Aldredge
Jul 25, 2024
In the world of video content, creators need to look out for many pitfalls. Even if you think you’re creating fully cleared and copyright-free videos to upload on platforms like YouTube or other social video apps, you still might find yourself in hot water with different copyright holders and organizations.
The dreaded DMCA takedown request is one of the scariest notices any creator can ever receive. But what is the DMCA? Let’s explore everything you need to know about the DMCA and how you can do your best to avoid any takedown requests—leaving you free to create quality content to grow your channels, businesses, and brands.
What is the DMCA?
Let’s start with some basic definitions.
If you aren’t familiar with the DMCA, it stands for the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, a US copyright law passed in 1998. The DMCA’s origins date back to the first days of the Internet and is in place to deal with online media—which today is mostly focused on social media platforms like YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, Twitch, etc…
What is a DMCA takedown request?
The DMCA can issue DMCA takedown notices or DMCA takedown requests. What is a DMCA notice? These notifications are formal requests made on behalf of a copyright holder to a service provider to remove materials from a website or online platform that infringe copyright laws.
Suppose you have worked in content creation for long enough. In that case, you’ll probably at least hear about DMCA takedowns (or possibly experience them yourselves), most likely when you’re uploading content to platforms like YouTube.
The facts of DMCA takedowns
The long and the short of DMCA takedown requests are that they’re never a good thing. If you’re receiving any sort of DMCA notification, you should absolutely take it seriously. That being said, they happen fairly often and can be issued by mistake occasionally.
Here are the facts:
- Copyright holders send DMCA takedown notices when they recognize that their content is being used without licensing or permission.
- To issue a DMCA takedown notice, the copyright holder must list all the times and places where the copyright has been broken and notify the service provider.
- The service provider will then take different steps to either mute or remove the content and notify the user about the notice and what action is being taken.
- Service providers can reject takedown requests if they believe they are false.
- DMCA takedown requests usually happen quickly but sometimes take a day or two to process. But once notified, you should always work to act quickly.
And while we’ll explore a bit more about what to do if you get a DMCA takedown request—as well as how to avoid them outright—a bit below. The basics here are that DMCA takedown requests are serious business and should be handled immediately and thoroughly.
How to resolve copyright claim issues
Now, let’s move on to the most pressing topic here. If you’ve received a DMCA takedown request or any other type of copyright infringement or claim notice, there are steps you should take right away.
If the DMCA takedown request comes from a platform like YouTube, chances are your content will either be removed or muted immediately. This is good news as it can protect you in the short term and give you a window to remove the copyrighted materials or—better yet—clear any content or music that is in question.
For YouTube specifically, if you’ve used music from Soundstripe for example, you can clear your YouTube content and channels here. If you have any other issues with Soundstripe music or assets, you can resolve your copyright issues here.
Otherwise, your best bet will be to immediately take down any content in question. If it’s just one asset in a video, like a song or sound effect, you could take the content down and remove the copyrighted materials, then re-upload.
How to challenge a DMCA takedown request
If you happen to find yourself in a situation where you believe that a DMCA takedown notice has been issued to you by mistake, you’ll need to let your service provider know. They will do a review and either let you know that your content may still be in violation or reach out to the copyright holder to resolve the issue.
You could also contact an attorney to help you with your situation, which would be recommended as these notices and counter-notices can be tricky and are not something you want to take lightly.
If you have more questions about DMCA takedown requests with YouTube specifically, you can review the full policy on YouTube’s support center.
How to avoid DMCA takedown requests
So, the big question is simply, how do you avoid receiving DMCA takedown requests? The best way, by far, is to only use content and assets that you have either completely created yourself or that you’ve licensed legally through reputable sources.
For music, in particular, many royalty free music licensing companies offer fully protected music and sound effects that you can safely use in all of your videos and content.
With royalty free music companies like Soundstripe, you are fully protected from any DMCA takedown notices and will be provided with resources to help you keep your content and channels clear.
Keeping your content DMCA free and DMCA safe
If you want to do your own research, though, be sure to look for confirmed DMCA free music or DMCA safe music. These terms pop up online and basically cover music and assets that have been properly licensed and are protected for you to use in your projects.
We also have some playlists to share with you, which are full of DMCA free and DMCA safe music. Check them out and get started on your risk-free content journey.
Here are some recommended playlists:
Description: A collection of the best vocal Pop tracks from the Soundstripe catalog.
Description: Whether you want to stay in tune with the freshest stuff in Soundstripe's library or just want a playlist handpicked by people with superb taste, you’re in the right place.
Description: Turn up the jams with these 90s-inspired tracks. It's all that and a bag of chips.
Description: Acoustic Singer/Songwriter tunes that waft like your morning cup of joe.
Description: Songs that incorporate traditional sonic elements from all around the globe.
Of course, this is just a small sampling of the many thousands of royalty free music tracks you can find here at Soundstripe. You can browse more playlists here or check out our full catalog on our app.
Resources for learning more about using copyrighted music
If you’d like to read more about using royalty free music and sound effects specifically for different social media platforms or purposes, here are some more helpful articles that we recommend checking out.
- The Creator's Guide to Royalty-Free Music
- The Details Everyone Should Know About Music Copyright
- Tired of Copyright Strikes? We've Got an Answer
And here are some articles on using copyrighted music for different platforms.