Love Letter #2

Love Letter #2: Copyright Strikes Are Out of Control

A Note Before We Begin

After I sent Love Letter #1, I heard from so many of you. Emails, DMs, texts etc.

I asked you to tell me your biggest fears, and you did. Loudly. The pain points were wide-ranging, but one surfaced again and again with urgency and weight.

Copyright strikes. Not algorithm shifts. Strikes.

The kind that erase your work, destroy income, and turn your business into a legal liability overnight. This letter is for every creator who’s been blindsided by the system and left to fend for themselves. I’m going to walk you through the real risks and the real protections. Because no one else will.

TL;DR: How to Protect Your Channel from Strikes

• Claims = nuisance (someone else gets the money).

• Copyright Strikes = legal risk (3 = channel termination).

• Community Strikes = platform risk (3 = termination under YouTube’s rules).

• Demonetization = business risk (ads shut off across your channel).

• Fair Use won’t stop a strike on YouTube. It only applies in court.

The fix: register your videos and thumbnails, trademark your name and logo, keep proof of ownership, and diversify your revenue.

Every week, my inbox fills with the same story.

A strike lands.

A video disappears.

A channel is on the edge of being shut down.

Creators are panicked and scared.

Strikes don’t all look the same.

Some are filed by trolls looking for a payout.

Some come from competitors trying to slow you down.

Some are triggered automatically by the platform.

But once you understand where they come from, you can protect yourself before they land.

The IP Vultures Are Real

One creator I worked with was blindsided by an IP troll.

The troll claimed ownership of clips buried in old reaction videos.

Not even new uploads. Videos from years ago.

The message was simple.

Pay up.

Or risk the channel.

We pushed back, and it took months of negotiation and legal expense to resolve.

That creator could absorb the cost.

But most can’t.

And this is the problem. 

Trolls know the system favors speed and pressure.

But here’s the flip side.

Another creator I advised faced a similar demand.

A troll threatened strikes, but when pressed for proof of ownership, they couldn’t provide any.

The claim fell apart.

The difference? The creator had enough documentation and leverage to call their bluff.

The Platforms Won’t Protect You

Social Media Companies' role is not to protect creators. Their role is to protect themselves from liability.

Under the DMCA, they are required to remove content when they receive a valid takedown notice and then forward that notice to the creator.

That’s it.

They don’t investigate the truth.

They don’t stand between you and a bad actor.

This is why IP trolls thrive. They know the platform will comply first and ask questions later.

But now there are millions of claims each day. The sheer volume is insane.

Platforms incentivize creators to succeed for reasons I’ll cover in a future letter, but they cannot help with strikes because as they say, “that is legal and we cannot touch legal.”

The Fair Use Reality

Fair use is real, and courts have upheld it many times.

But here’s the challenge. It only comes alive in litigation.

It doesn’t prevent a takedown on YouTube.

It doesn’t stop a troll from filing a strike.

That doesn’t mean you’re helpless.

It means prevention matters more than cure. Clean catalogs. Clear contracts. Proper registrations.

And always keep documentation within reach.

This is how you shift the leverage back to you.

The Bigger Picture I’m Seeing

I believe I am the early warning system for what’s happening to creators.

Because I work with hundreds of them, from those just starting to those with audiences in the

tens of millions, I see the patterns before they hit the headlines.

And right now, the risks are multiplying: 

• Copyright Registration: I now register both videos and even thumbnails for clients with the U.S. Copyright Office. Why? Because when your work is registered, you can actually enforce your rights in court and recover statutory damages. Without registration, your rights are paper-thin.

• Trademarks: I trademark creator names, logos, and even profile photos. Why? Because when a copycat channel pops up (and they will) platforms respond faster to takedowns if you own the trademark. It’s proof of brand identity, not just content ownership.

• Copycat Channels: These are exploding. Entire accounts built to mimic, impersonate, and siphon revenue from real creators. Some even run ads against stolen content.  Without registrations and trademarks in place, fighting back is slow, expensive, and often ineffective.

What I know is this. The same forces that hurt creators today are warning signs for where the industry is heading tomorrow.

And that’s why I write these letters.

Claims vs. Strikes vs. Community Guidelines vs. Demonetization

A quick reset, because these terms get thrown around all the time.

Claims (Content ID):

• Triggered automatically by YouTube’s Content ID system.

• The copyright holder can block the video, track analytics, or monetize it themselves.

• Annoying, but not lethal.

Copyright Strikes (DMCA Takedowns):

• Filed by a copyright owner under the DMCA.

• Video removed. Strike on your record.

• Three strikes equals channel termination.

• This is the biggest legal risk.

Community Guideline Strikes:

• Issued directly by YouTube for breaking its rules, things like spam, harassment, or “reused content.”

• Not tied to copyright law at all.

• But just like DMCA strikes, three equals channel termination.

• And one strike can already limit features like livestreaming or monetization.

Demonetization (AdSense Suspension):

• YouTube shuts off ads across your entire channel.

• It doesn’t matter if you have strikes or not.

• If they decide you aren’t brand safe, revenue stops.

Know the difference:

• A claim costs you money.

• A copyright strike risks your channel.

• A community strike risks your channel in a different way, at the platform’s discretion.

• And demonetization threatens your entire business.

The Fallout of Losing Your Channel

• Imagine waking up to the email.

• Your channel is gone.

• Years of uploads, deleted.

• AdSense, shut off.

• Brand deals, canceled.

• Your income, gone overnight.

I’ve spoken with creators who felt their entire world collapse in a single click.
And the truth is, recovery is brutal.

You can appeal.You can escalate.
You can file a counter-notification.
But it is slow, uncertain, and risky.
By the time the system catches up, your business may already be gone.

The Good News

You are not powerless.

The same system trolls exploit can be turned to your advantage if you prepare early.

Creators who register their content, trademark their brand, and keep proof of ownership are building businesses that last.

I see creators everyday protecting themselves, winning deals, and licensing their catalogs for real money.

This isn’t about fear.

It’s about control.

And you have more of it than you realize.

What You Can Do Now

Here is what I tell every creator:

• Register your content with the U.S. Copyright Office. Yes, videos and thumbnails.

• Trademark your channel name and profile image. It’s your fastest weapon against impersonators.

• Use clean B-roll and licensed music. Keep receipts.

• Avoid reaction content as your main format. It is legally fragile.

• Keep proof of ownership. Store your licenses, receipts, and contracts in one place.

• Diversify revenue. YouTube is a platform, not your business model.

• Move your fans to your own land (aka email list). If your channel goes dark, your community should not.

Protection is not about fighting after the fact.

Protection is about building safeguards before disaster strikes.

Creators, you are not at the mercy of trolls or copycats. You can take steps today to protect your business and your livelihood.

Because you are not just making videos. You are building an empire.

And empires must be defended.

With love,
Tyler
The Creators’ Attorney
Content is King. IP is Queen.

P.S. I’ll go deeper into this in a new YouTube video, walking through fair use myths, how trolls exploit the DMCA, the rise of copycat channels, and exactly what happens when you lose your channel. If you prefer to watch instead of read, you’ll find it on my channel this week.

P.S.S. If this feels longer than most newsletters you read, it’s because I do not want to gatekeep. This Love Letter is part of a larger Creator Legal Strike Guide I’m writing, as well as my book on the Law and Business of Creators.

Over the last 18 months, especially the past 8 months while I disappeared from making videos and writing newsletters, I realized something. Only the biggest creators were getting access to me and my playbooks. That never sat right with me.

I started these Love Letters to change that, to give every creator, at every size, the same tools and protections my top clients rely on.

I see the problems before they make headlines, and I believe it’s my duty to give you the playbook. Consider these letters your early access.

Reply with what you want me to write about in the next Love Letter. And share with me: are you being affected by strikes?