Resolve Asset Issues

There are a number of issues that can arise from your assets. Having unresolved asset issues can negatively affect your revenue, as monetization might be paused. Therefore, you should work with us to resolve any issues as quickly as possible.

Every week, you will receive an email with the subject "[Action Required] Asset Issues" that contains a sheet detailing your asset issues. If you do not receive an email, that means your assets do not have any issues.

When you receive an asset issues notification from us, please review each issue and take action.

In this document, "partner" refers to a company that has access to YouTube Content ID. Partners can be rightsholders themselves, or act on behalf of another rightsholder, similar to how we act on your behalf.

Ownership Conflict

Different partners might have ownership of the same asset in different territories. YouTube applies each partner’s policy in the countries/regions where they own the asset.

If your ownership overlaps with another partner, one partner has to remove their ownership.

If you believe the other party is correct

We must remove our ownership from the asset.

Reply to our email and let us know for which asset ID(s) we should remove our ownership.

If you believe the other party is wrong

Please double-check that you own the necessary rights to represent this asset in Content ID. This means:

• You are the exclusive rightsholder of this asset.

• This asset does not contain non-exclusive snippets (such as sound effects or stock videos).

• You did not instruct the other party to claim ownership of this asset.

If all of the above apply, please let us know whether you are the creator of the asset, or if you licensed it from someone else. If you licensed it from someone else, please attach the contract for reference. Provide as much information as possible.

We will then reach out to the other partner to resolve the issue.

Ownership Transfer Request

Ownership transfer requests happen when another partner notices an ownership conflict and formally requests to us to remove our ownership. We need to respond within 30 days. Otherwise, asset ownership will automatically be transferred to the partner who requested the ownership transfer.

If you believe the other party is correct

We must remove our ownership from the asset.

Reply to our email and let us know for which asset ID(s) we should remove our ownership.

If you believe the other party is wrong

Please double-check that you own the necessary rights to represent this asset in Content ID. This means:

• You are the exclusive rightsholder of this asset.

• This asset does not contain non-exclusive snippets (such as sound effects or stock videos).

• You did not instruct the other party to claim ownership of this asset.

If all of the above apply, please let us know whether you are the creator of the asset, or if you licensed it from someone else. If you licensed it from someone else, please attach the contract for reference. Provide as much information as possible.

We will then reach out to the other party to resolve the issue.

Reference Overlap

A reference is the video or audio file YouTube uses as the source file for Content ID matching. The file you upload when creating new assets is used as a reference.

Reference overlaps occur when two reference files have similar segments that could result in claims on the same audio, visual, or audiovisual content.

If you believe the other party is correct (i.e., they own the overlapping part of the reference)

We must exclude the overlapping part from the reference.

Reply to our email and let us know for which asset ID(s) we should exclude the overlapping part.

If you believe the other party is wrong (i.e., you own the overlapping part of the reference)

Please double-check that you own the necessary rights to represent this reference in Content ID. This means:

• You are the exclusive rightsholder of this asset.

• This asset does not contain non-exclusive snippets (such as sound effects or stock videos).

• You did not instruct the other party to claim ownership of this asset.

Many reference overlaps occur because of the use of non-exclusive segments in a reference. For example, two artists may have used the same vocal track that is available in their mixing software. In this case, the artist does not have an exclusive right to use the vocals (as they only a non-exclusive license), so they must be excluded from the reference.

As a general rule of thumb: If you are not the only party who is allowed to use a part of your reference, it can not be added to Content ID.

If all of the above apply, please let us know whether you are the creator of the overlapping reference segment, or if you licensed it from someone else. If you licensed it from someone else, please attach the contract for reference. Provide as much information as possible.

We will then reach out to the other party to resolve the issue.