Services — YouTube copyright removal assistance

We work with creators, video producers and other copyright owners who believe their work is being used on YouTube without permission.

Unauthorized copies of your videos

Assistance with suspected unauthorized uploads of your video content on YouTube — full re-uploads, and other uses of copyright-protected video content where the evidence supports a removal request.

For Creators, video producers and other owners of the copyright in a video.

What you provide

The original video, where it was first published, and the publication date YouTube shows.
The watch-page URL of each suspected copy, recorded one per copy.
What shows the work is yours — source files, project archives, the account that first published it.

What we handle

Review of ownership evidence, authorization and possible copyright exceptions by a person on our team.
A removal request prepared in the format YouTube asks for.
Submission as your authorized representative, where the review supports filing.

YouTube’s decision

YouTube reviews each request under its own process and decides whether to remove the content.

Limits

Partial uses inside commentary, criticism, review, parody or teaching, where a copyright exception may apply, are reviewed with particular care and may be declined.

Evidence and case preparation

Organizing what a removal request depends on: the original work, each suspected copy, and what connects them — before any decision to file.

For Copyright owners who want a matter assessed and documented before anything is submitted.

What you provide

Whatever you already hold — links, files, dates — even if it is incomplete.
Any licence, permission or earlier agreement that might cover the use.

What we handle

A structured record of the original, each reported URL and what was copied, with timestamps where the copying is partial.
A clear note of anything missing, before any filing decision is made.

YouTube’s decision

YouTube still reviews every request it receives under its own process; preparation makes a request complete and checkable, nothing more.

Limits

A matter whose evidence cannot be completed is not filed.

Authorized representative filing

Submitting copyright removal requests on your behalf, as your authorized representative, from our published filing mailbox and signed by our named signatory.

For Copyright owners who prefer a representative to file and handle correspondence for them.

What you provide

Written authorization for us to act, covering the works and the action concerned.
Who owns the copyright — you, or the party you are authorized to act for.

What we handle

A check that the authorization covers the specific work and the specific action.
Filing as your authorized representative — never as the owner of your work.
Keeping the authorization on file; it can be provided to the relevant platform when appropriate or requested.

YouTube’s decision

YouTube decides whether a request is valid and what action to take. Representation does not change who owns the work, and the copyright owner is still identified in the request.

Limits

We do not file without written authorization in place.

Artwork used on YouTube

Copyright-protected visual material used on YouTube, such as channel banner artwork or thumbnails, where YouTube’s copyright removal process supports the content type.

For Illustrators, designers and other owners of the copyright in artwork.

What you provide

The original artwork, and where and when it was first published.
Where the item appears on YouTube. The location YouTube asks for differs by content type — a channel banner, for example, is identified by the channel address.
Anyone else who may hold rights in the artwork — a co-author, a client, a former partner.

What we handle

The same evidence, authorization and review standard as a video matter.
Submission through the route YouTube specifies for that content type.

YouTube’s decision

YouTube decides whether its process applies to the item and what action to take.

Limits

Artwork whose ownership is uncertain.
Branding or trademark disputes presented as copyright.

Case correspondence and follow-up

Handling the correspondence that follows a request, recorded under the matter’s internal case number.

For Clients with a matter we have taken on.

What you provide

Your case reference when you write about an open matter.
A reply within the existing case thread rather than a new message.

What we handle

Responses to YouTube’s requests for more information — for example, a more specific description of the work, evidence of authorization, or confirmation that copyright exceptions were considered.
Passing on correspondence about the matter to you, including any counter notification.
A case record kept current in our published status words.

YouTube’s decision

If the uploader files a counter notification, YouTube’s process — and, if it comes to that, a court — decides what happens next. We do not decide the dispute.

Limits

Following up cannot speed up YouTube’s review or change its decision.

Corrections and retractions

Correcting errors in matters we handled, and retracting requests we submitted when retraction is appropriate.

For Clients — and anyone, including a reported uploader, who believes a request we submitted contains an error.

What you provide

The case reference, or the URL concerned.
What you believe is factually wrong.

What we handle

A review of our own record, and correction of factual errors.
Retraction of a request we submitted, where appropriate and where we are authorized to act on the matter. Our retractions are sent from copyright@takedownbureau.com — the address our original filings come from — and signed with the signer’s full legal name.
A record of every correction and retraction in the case history.
Where a retraction is appropriate and we are authorized to act on the matter, we do not charge the uploader for it.

YouTube’s decision

A retraction asks YouTube to withdraw the request, and YouTube processes it under its own retraction procedure. YouTube’s published rule is that a retraction sent by email comes from the same email address or company domain as the original request.

Limits

We cannot retract a request we did not submit or are not authorized to handle.

Scheduled monitoring

A recurring review of identified works at a cadence agreed for the engagement.

For Owners of works that are re-uploaded repeatedly.

What you provide

The works to be covered, and where each was first published.
The review cadence you need — agreed when the engagement begins.

What we handle

Periodic review for suspected unauthorized uses of the identified works.
A record of what each review finds. Any request that follows meets the same review and authorization standard as a single matter.

YouTube’s decision

YouTube decides the outcome of every request that results from a review.

Limits

A scheduled review is periodic, not continuous, and cannot guarantee that every unauthorized use is found.

Questions

Questions about the service

More general questions are answered on the homepage and in our guides.

When can Takedown Bureau act as an authorized representative?

Only once written authorization is in place that covers the works and the action concerned, and only for the copyright owner or someone authorized to act for them. We never present ourselves as the owner of your work.

Does Takedown Bureau decide fair use?

No. Fair use depends on the facts of each case, the rules on copyright exceptions differ between countries, and under U.S. law courts make the final determination. Before filing we consider whether an exception may apply, and we decline a matter when the available information does not responsibly support filing.

Screening for copyright exceptions →

Do you handle thumbnails or channel artwork?

Yes, where YouTube’s copyright removal process supports the content type. YouTube asks for a different location and submission route depending on the type of content — a channel banner, for example, is identified by the channel address — so we confirm the right format and route for each item.

How does scheduled monitoring work?

We review the works you identify at a cadence agreed for the engagement, document suspected unauthorized uses, and handle each one under the same review and authorization standard as a single matter. Monitoring is periodic, not continuous, and it cannot guarantee that every use is found.

What happens if a filing needs correction or retraction?

Write to compliance@takedownbureau.com with the case reference or the URL concerned. If we confirm an error in a request we submitted, we correct it — retracting the request where appropriate — and record the correction in the case history. Our retractions are sent from copyright@takedownbureau.com, the address our original filings come from, and are signed with the signer’s full legal name.

Corrections and retractions →

Limits

Cases we may decline

Every matter is reviewed before anything is filed. These are the situations in which we decline a matter, or refer it back to the copyright owner.

Declining an uncertain matter protects every valid one.

Uncertain ownership
Missing or unclear written authorization
Uses that may fall within a copyright exception, such as fair use
Business or contract disputes presented as copyright
Harassment, impersonation or trademark concerns presented as copyright
Incomplete evidence
Requests aimed at criticism rather than copying

How a matter moves through review → When a removal request is the wrong instrument → The evidence checklist for a YouTube request →

Have a copyright concern to discuss?

Start with the original work, the URLs involved and what shows the rights are yours. A short first message describing the matter is more useful than an attachment folder.

Discuss your case What to prepare →

Already have an open matter? Reply within your case thread.