♪ [intro music] ♪
Welcome back to Sustainable Monetized Websites,
a series for online content creators and content managers
who also handle monetization.
I'm Aurora and I work in policy transparency at Google,
and these are my two co-hosts, Organica and Monetized.
In this episode, we will take a look at copyright
from a holistic point of view.
We'll see what happens from the content creator angle
as well as from the side of the publisher
who receives a copyright infringement notification.
Please bear in mind that this is not intended to be legal advice,
so you should consult an attorney if you have questions
about any of the copyright-related topics we're about to discuss.
Let me start by saying,
copyrights is form of intellectual property,
a person who creates a original work such as an image, or a piece of music
typically holds a copyright in that work.
Generally, the copyright holder can control who can make
and distribute copies of their work, who can display or perform it publicly,
and who can make derivative works based on it.
Exceptions to this rule are uses that fall under
fair dealing or fair use such as news reporting or parody.
Many types of works are eligible for copyright protection.
Examples of this include, but are not limited to:
audiovisual works such as TV shows, movies and online videos;
sound recordings and musical compositions;
written works such as lectures, articles, and books;
visual works such as paintings, posters, and advertisements;
videogames and computer software;
dramatics works such as plays and musicals.
Google does not allow content that infringes copyrights.
Under this policy, we will respond to copyright infringement notifications
to comply with copyright laws worldwide.
And what are those laws?
One example is the United States copyright law
known as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act or DMCA.
Under this law, Google may, when properly notified,
disable access to content that violates it.
Now that I covered the basics of copyright,
let's test your knowledge.
It's... ♪ [gameshow music] ♪
I will read a statement and you will tell me
if it's true or false.
Round one.
If I give credit to the copyright holder,
my use of their content is automatically not infringing.
[beeps] True!
And that is wrong.
[buzz]
Giving credit to a copyright holder does not make a particular use
of copyrighted content authorized or fair.
Round two.
The copyright holder has the right to control all uses
of the work they produce.
[beeps] True!
And that is false! [buzzer]
In limited cases, other people can use content from a work
that's protected by copyright without getting permission
from the copyright holder.
That's because some unauthorized uses of copyrighted works
are considered as fair dealing exception or fair use.
But it's not always easy to tell which uses are fair.
Users can provide relevant information to Google
that will help us asses their case.
Third and final round.
If you see an image that you know is being used in a way that infringes
on someone else's copyright,
you should submit a copyright infringement notification
on the copyright holder's behalf.
(beeps) True!
And that is false! [buzz]
♪ [comedic trombone] ♪
Only copyright holders or their authorized representatives
can submit copyright infringement notifications.
You may not know whether someone
has a license to use another person's copyrighted work or not,
and Google has to be careful not to remove legitimate content.
Users who send copyright infringement notifications to Google
must check a box swearing under the penalty of perjury
that they are the real copyright holder or
authorized to act on behalf of them.
And that's it for the copyright quiz.
Let's look now at the copyright removal request process.
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As a web publisher, you could find yourself on both sides
of a copyright removal request.
You might be the copyright holder who finds that another publisher
is using content you created in a way that you think is infringing.
Or you might have used another right holder's content
in a way that they believe is infringing.
If you're a content creator and you believe
there's an unauthorized copy of your content on a website
that you would like to have removed,
the first step is to contact the site owner
to request the content removal at the source.
If that doesn't work out, you can initiate a process
to delist the specific web page
containing that content from search results.
The easiest way to report copyright infringement to Google
is to our legal troubleshooter.
Once you've selected the product,
make sure to file a complete copyright infringement notification
as we cannot take action on incomplete submissions.
Using the troubleshooter will insure that your notification
contains all the legally required elements,
such as description of your work that you believe has been infringed
and the URLs where the allegedly infringing content can be found.
When we receive a valid copyright infringement notification,
our teams carefully review it for completeness.
If the notification is complete and we find no other issues,
we will delist the URL from search results.
Thanks for that Organica!
Monetized, what happens if you're the site owner
and Google lets you know they've had to remove content
from your site due to a copyright infringement notification?
If Google receives a valid copyright infringement notification
against your site or page,
meaning that someone has reported your online content
for copyright infringement,
your page level URL will be delisted from Google's search results.
If you're an AdSense publisher, your content monetization
will also be disabled on that page as per our publisher program policies.
As we mentioned in episode 3 of our series,
make sure your site adds unique value.
When a URL is removed due to a claim of copyright infringement,
we notify both the complainant and the site owner through Search Console.
The URL is delisted from Google search results.
Sites with high number of removal notices may appear lower in search results,
ads can no longer be placed on the page containing claimed infringing content.
If you believe your page was removed by mistake,
you can either contact the claimant directly
to request a retraction of the takedown notice,
or you can submit a counter notification.
When filling out your counter notification,
please be sure to identify the specific URLs
or other unique identifying information of material that Google has removed
or to which Google has disabled access.
Your counter notification request must meet all legal requirements
and clearly explain your right to use the copyrighted content
in your own words.
If you think the content was wrongly identified,
explain why in a clear and concise way.
Luckily, Google's web form will guide you through the submission process.
Once you submit the counter notification through our web form or in Search Console,
if it meets all legal requirements
and clearly explains your right to use the content,
it is then forwarded to the claimant with the full text
including the contact information you've entered.
We won't forward the counter notification
to any party other than the original claimant.
The claimant will then have 10 business days
as required by the copyright law to reply to your counter notification.
They'll need to respond with evidence
that they're taking legal action against you
to keep the content from being restored.
If they don't provide this evidence, in the provided timeframe,
the content will automatically be reinstated.
And why can't Google determine copyright ownership?
Google can't resolve disputes over who holds the copyrights
in a particular piece of content.
When we receive a complete and valid copyright infringement notification,
we'll remove the content as the law requires.
When we receive a valid counter notification,
we forward it to the person
who requested the removal in the first place.
If there's still a dispute after that process plays out,
it's up to the parties involved to resolve the issue in court.
If you're not sure whether certain material
infringes the copyrights of others,
we'll suggest that you contact an attorney before posting it.
In an effort to inform discussions about online content regulation,
Google regularly publishes transparency reports that disclose data
on content removal requests.
There's a specific report on content delistings due to copyrights
where you can explore the data and find requests from copyright owners
and the reporting organizations that represent them.
Remember, Google is required by international copyright laws
to remove content in response to valid claims of copyright infringement.
So only publish and monetize content that is not infringing.
A valid claim of copyright infringement
will remove your URL from Google Search results
and the claimed infringing content will no longer be accepted
for AdSense monetization.
We hope you enjoyed this episode.
Don't forget to like and share this video and subscribe to this channel
so that you're the first one to get new content.
See you.
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