Lowering Barriers to Entry: YouTube, Fair Use, and the Copyright Claims Board

Authors

Jamie O'Neill

Abstract

The Internet has transformed the landscape of media production by opening the doors of creation to anyone with a computer and an idea. YouTube allows for millions of individuals to post and disseminate content at a low cost to widespread audiences. But while the barriers to entry for content creation have lowered, the barriers to the legal copyright system have remained largely unmoved since YouTube’s inception. This Note seeks to explore the exact specifications of YouTube’s copyright system, both the one mandated by law and the one created voluntarily by YouTube, in order to understand where fair use stands in online copyright infringement detection. Additionally, the Note proposes the newly functional Copyright Claims Board as a way of lowering the barrier to entry into the legal system to allow for content creators to fight against online copyright abuse.

Recommended Citation

Jamie O'Neill, Lowering Barriers to Entry: YouTube, Fair Use, and the Copyright Claims Board, 33 Fordham Intell. Prop. Media & Ent. L.J. 176 (2022).
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/iplj/vol33/iss1/4