In response to continued criticism for failing to adequately prevent copyright infringement on its platform, YouTube has launched a tool designed to fight the issue. Known as the “Copyright Match” tool, the initiative is designed to identify re-uploads of a user’s content to other accounts. The uploaded video is first scanned and checked for similarities to other videos. Any such matches appear appropriately in the “matches” tab. Once a match has been identified, the user may choose to take no action, request YouTube remove the video, or take matters into their own hands by contacting the creator directly. When a removal request is submitted to YouTube, a 7-day delay is required to permit the alleged infringer to resolve the issue themselves. In announcing this launch, the video sharing platform emphasized the importance of ensuring exclusive ownership in the content prior to taking action. For instance, if the content is safely within the public domain or subject to fair use, the user should not file a takedown request nor contact the uploader directly. If successful, this initiative may prove to be a large step toward the longtime headache experienced by creators in policing stolen online content. #omnilegalgroup #copyright #youtube