Someone re-uploaded my video on YouTube. What can I do?

Your three options at a glance

Option	The copy stays up	You earn from it	Works at scale
Message the uploader	Maybe	No	No
Copyright removal request	No	No	No, one request per video
Content ID claim	Yes	Yes, from ads	Yes, matching is automatic

Option 1: ask the uploader

Some re-uploads come from fans who do not know the rules. A short, polite comment or email asking them to remove the video is often enough. It costs nothing and keeps things friendly, but nothing obliges them to answer.

Before you write, check who you are dealing with. A channel that posts dozens of other people's videos a day is unlikely to reply. Our guide to telling whether a reuploader is a spam channel lists the signs. If a channel is pretending to be you, that is a separate problem: YouTube's impersonation policy covers it, and you report the channel rather than the video.

Option 2: file a copyright removal request

If you own the video, you can ask YouTube to remove the copy with a copyright removal request. You file it in YouTube Studio. Two choices on the form are worth knowing:

• Scheduled request. The removal takes effect after 7 days, so the uploader can delete the video first and avoid a strike.
• Prevent copies. YouTube tries to stop future copies of the same video from being uploaded.

This is a legal process. You sign it with your full legal name, and YouTube warns that false or abusive requests can lead to your account being terminated. When the video comes down, the uploader's channel usually receives a copyright strike. Three strikes in 90 days can end a channel, and the uploader can answer with a counter notification.

After a valid removal request, you can also use the Copyright Match Tool. It scans for full re-uploads of your videos on other channels and shows them to you, so you can contact the channel, request removal or archive the match. It only finds videos uploaded after yours, so it matters that you uploaded first, and it may miss short clips.

The drawback of both is the same: the copy disappears, and so does every view it would have brought.

Option 3: claim it with Content ID

Content ID compares every upload with reference files that rights owners give YouTube. When it finds a match, the owner's settings decide whether the video is blocked, monetized with ads, or just tracked. A monetized copy stays online, and the ad revenue from it goes to the rights owner instead of the uploader.

YouTube does not give Content ID to every channel. It goes to owners with exclusive rights to their material and a demonstrated need, and many owners use a third-party service provider to manage it. Our guide to how independent creators get Content ID explains the options, and there are guides for streamers, musicians and podcasts.

Aegis is one of those services. You give us a link to your channel or a playlist, and we add your videos as references and claim the copies. We handle the work that comes with it: exclusions for parts you don't own, disputes, false claims and overlapping references. We also look for copies that automatic matching misses, because reuploaders often crop, re-render, cut or speed up a video to slip past it. Your earnings are broken down by asset and by claim.

Claims can be disputed. The uploader can say they have the rights or that their use is fair use, and the claimant then has 30 days to respond. Some copies really are fair use: commentary, criticism and parody can be. Our guide to fair use on YouTube explains where that line usually falls.

Which option should you choose?

• One copy, a channel that looks genuine: send a message first.
• One copy that you want gone, or a channel that will not reply: file a removal request, and use the Copyright Match Tool to watch for more.
• Copies keep appearing, or the copies get real views: claim them with Content ID and earn from the views.

Some creators go one step further. With an Aegis license page, fans and reaction channels can ask permission to reuse your videos. Your claim stays on their upload and the revenue is shared on terms you set.

Content ID is only for content you control exclusively. Gameplay, compilations, remixes, recordings of concerts or broadcasts, and anything built on royalty-free or Creative Commons material do not qualify, according to YouTube's page on who qualifies for Content ID. If that describes your channel, the removal request and the Copyright Match Tool are the tools for you.