YouTube guitarist Paul Davids found himself on the end of a copyright infringement claim by YouTube’s Content ID system that turned out to be his own work.
Davids initially created a guitar track that he uploaded in a video to the content sharing website. YouTube would surprisingly get in contact with Davids with a claim that he had infringed another YouTuber’s track, and as a consequence his video was to be demonetised while the other continued to receive remuneration. This was not the case, however.
It transpired that this other YouTuber had in fact utilised Davids’ track in his own video after Davids had uploaded his initial video, all without Davids permission. In other words, it was the other YouTuber who had committed the infringement, not Davids.
The question is why did the Content ID system not highlight the infringing YouTuber’s video beforehand? Indeed, there have been several notable issues with the system in the past as the site seeks to crackdown on copyright infringement.
YouTube’s Content ID system was introduced in 2007 in an attempt to solve issues of copyright that many had complained was plaguing the website. The system would automatically scan user content to identify and remove copyright infringing work. The issues that have surrounded the system underpin certain arguments against using automatic copyright detection systems to uncover infringing work, as copyright infringement miscarriages can serve to frustrate and impede content creators online.
