Will Your Clip Get a Copyright Claim? (Free Checker, 2026)
Answer a few quick questions about your clip to see how likely it is to get a copyright claim — and why. Rules, not AI: nothing you choose leaves your browser. Not legal advice.
Copyright risk
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Answer the questions to see the risk — 0 of 4 answered.
Not legal advice. This rules-based checker explains how copyright claims, strikes and exceptions generally work, from YouTube's published policies, the platforms' own rules and the law's text. It doesn't decide whether your clip is legal, and a result is never a guarantee. For a decision about a specific use, talk to a qualified lawyer.
The short answer
Your clip can get a copyright claim if it includes someone else's video or music: YouTube's Content ID automatically scans every upload against audio and video files that copyright owners submit, and a match — even of a few seconds — gets a claim that lets the owner block the video, run ads on it or track its views. A claim affects that one video and typically doesn't bring a strike; a copyright strike follows a legal copyright removal request, and channels that get 3 strikes in 90 days are subject to termination.
How the checker decides
Rules, not AI. The checker is a fixed decision tree: its questions — Whose video is the clip from? · Is there music in the clip? · Do you have permission or a license for everything in it that isn't yours? · How long is the clip? · Where will you post it? — lead to exactly one of 3 bands: Likely claimed (A copyright claim is likely.) · Risky (A claim is still possible.) · Safe (Lowest risk — not a guarantee.). The same answers always give the same result, and nothing you choose is sent anywhere: the check runs in your browser.
The permission question appears only when something in the clip is not yours. The length of the clip never changes the band — it changes what the result tells you, such as a few seconds not being a free pass, or the rule for a claimed Short over one minute.
The rules: Someone else's footage, or music other than YouTube's Audio Library, without permission → Likely claimed. Someone else's footage, or music other than YouTube's Audio Library, not sure about permission → Likely claimed. Someone else's footage, or music other than YouTube's Audio Library, with permission or a license → Risky. Only your own footage and no music → Safe. Your own footage with YouTube Audio Library music, posted on YouTube → Safe. Your own footage with YouTube Audio Library music, posted somewhere other than YouTube → Risky.
Every statement the checker and this page make about claims, strikes, Content ID, fair use and fair dealing is quoted from an official primary source, last checked 2026-09-16: YouTube Help — “How Content ID works” (retrieved 2026-09-11). https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2797370 · YouTube Help — “Learn about copyright claims” (retrieved 2026-09-11). https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6013276 · YouTube Help — “Understand copyright strikes” (retrieved 2026-09-11). https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2814000 · YouTube Help — “Dispute a copyright claim” (retrieved 2026-09-11). https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2797454 · YouTube Help — “Fair use on YouTube” (retrieved 2026-09-11). https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9783148 · YouTube Help — “Common copyright myths” (retrieved 2026-09-11). https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/2797449 · YouTube Help — “Exempt channels from Content ID claims” (retrieved 2026-09-11). https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/6070344 · YouTube Help — “Use music and sound effects from the Audio Library” (retrieved 2026-09-11). https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/3376882 · YouTube Help — “Understand three-minute YouTube Shorts” (retrieved 2026-09-16). https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/15424877 · YouTube Help — “Monetization during copyright claim disputes” (retrieved 2026-09-11). https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7000961 · YouTube Official Blog — “Access for all, a balanced ecosystem, and powerful tools” (6 December 2021; the first Copyright Transparency Report, January–June 2021; retrieved 2026-09-11). https://blog.youtube/news-and-events/access-all-balanced-ecosystem-and-powerful-tools/ · U.S. Copyright Office — “U.S. Copyright Office Fair Use Index” (retrieved 2026-09-11). https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/ · The Copyright Act, 1957 (India), section 52(1)(a) — “The Copyright Act, 1957 (Act No. 14 of 1957, amended up to Act No. 7 of 2017)”, WIPO Lex (retrieved 2026-09-11; to be confirmed against India Code by the legal reviewer). https://www.wipo.int/wipolex/en/legislation/details/15814 · Meta Transparency Center — “Community Standards” (retrieved 2026-09-11). https://transparency.meta.com/policies/community-standards/ · Meta Transparency Center — “Third-Party Intellectual Property Infringement” (policy change log 27 August 2024; retrieved 2026-09-11). https://transparency.meta.com/policies/community-standards/intellectual-property/ · TikTok — “Intellectual Property Policy” (effective 26 April 2025; retrieved 2026-09-11). https://www.tiktok.com/legal/page/global/copyright-policy/en
The whole legal content is flagged for expert legal review before launch. It explains how these systems generally work; it never decides whether a particular clip is legal.
Not legal advice. This rules-based checker explains how copyright claims, strikes and exceptions generally work, from YouTube's published policies, the platforms' own rules and the law's text. It doesn't decide whether your clip is legal, and a result is never a guarantee. For a decision about a specific use, talk to a qualified lawyer.
Frequently asked questions
Is it legal to clip other people's videos?
You need the rights to what you use. YouTube's guidance is that you must have all the necessary rights to every copyrighted element before you upload — and that giving credit, adding a disclaimer or not trying to make money doesn't give you them. Copyright exceptions exist — fair use in the US, fair dealing in India — but only a court can decide whether a use qualifies. The clearest route is the owner's permission.
What's the difference between a copyright claim and a strike?
A Content ID claim is automatic: YouTube matches your upload against files that copyright owners submit, and the owner can block, monetize or track the video. Claims affect that video and usually don't impact your channel — owners often allow their content in claimed videos in exchange for running ads. A copyright strike follows a valid legal copyright removal request: the video is removed, strikes expire after 90 days if you complete Copyright School and have fewer than 3, and channels that get 3 strikes in 90 days are subject to termination. Disputing a claim without a valid reason can lead to a removal request and a strike. When uploaders do dispute, YouTube reported that over 60% of resolutions in the first half of 2021 went their way — the claimant released the claim or let it expire.
How do I avoid copyright strikes?
A strike follows a legal copyright removal request, so post only what you have the rights to: your own footage, music from YouTube's Audio Library, or someone else's work with their permission — if they use Content ID, they can add your channel to their allowlist. If a claim lands, dispute it only with a valid reason (you have the rights, a copyright exception such as fair use applies, or the video was misidentified), because a dispute without one can end in a removal request and a strike. Credit and disclaimers don't give you rights.
What's the difference between fair use and fair dealing in India?
Fair use is the US exception: courts weigh four factors — the purpose and character of the use, the nature of the copyrighted work, the amount and substantiality of the portion used, and the effect on the market for the original — case by case, and there's no formula for an amount you can use without permission. India's Copyright Act, 1957 (section 52(1)(a)) says a fair dealing with a work (other than a computer programme) for private or personal use including research, for criticism or review, or for reporting current events and current affairs is not an infringement. Either way, only a court can decide whether a use qualifies — Content ID can't.
Make clips the safe way — start from videos you own or have permission to use. ClipsYou turns one long video into 10 Shorts.
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