So, your video was taken down by a DMCA copyright notice, and you got sent to YouTube's copyright school. By now, you've watched the happy friends video, taking the quiz and heard YouTube's opinion on everything you are not allowed to do in your videos. At this point, you're probably starting to despair. As YouTube's video gives the impression that unless your video is completely 100% original, it is automatically copyright infringing. And once your video is taken down, there is nothing you can do about it. But take heart and don't give up hope. All is not lost yet. There is still a way you can get your video back and have the strike removed from your account. You can do this by using two secret weapons, hidden deep within the darkest recesses of copyright law, which copyright holders and big companies like Google absolutely do not want you to know about. These are the twin weapons of fair use and DMCA counter notices. These are the bane of copyright holders existence, as they restrict their ability to control what you do with their content, and take away their right to censor your videos. So here is the truth about copyright law that YouTube does not want you to know. Your videos do not have to be completely original in order to be legal, and just because you use copyrighted content without permission does not necessarily mean it is illegal. Instead, your video may in fact be fair use, which is not nearly as hard to understand as YouTube makes it sound, with all the rapid fire legalese and fine print. While the law gives four factors to use in deciding whether a use of copyrighted content is fair use, for YouTube videos you can use this simple guideline. If your video is transformative so that it imparts a new meaning and message to the original, and it does not compete with the market for the original or substitute for it, then your video is probably fair use. It also helps if your video is non-commercial and you are not benefiting from it in any way. If your video is fair use, then it is not copyright infringing, and you do not need the permission of the copyright holder to post it. If all you posted was a straight unedited clip from a movie or TV show, or an entire copyrighted song without adding anything more to it, your video is still probably infringing. But if your video does not compete with the original, and you made a new use of copyrighted content such as a remix or mashup video, it is probably fair use. There are several examples of things that are probably covered by fair use, movie reviews, and other types of commentary and criticism. Parodies which mock or satirize the original work. And finally, mashups, remixes, and other uses that completely transform the original into something new and creative. If your video that was taken down falls into one of these categories. There is a strong possibility that it is fair use, and you have the right to file a DMCA counter notice with YouTube, which will require YouTube to restore your video and remove the strike from your account within 10 to 14 business days. All you have to do is fill out YouTube's handy counter notice form, and be sure to include a brief statement of why your video is fair use. Once you do that, all you have to do is wait 10 to 14 days and your video will be restored. See Russell, that wasn't so hard. It turns out fair use not only is your friend, but it is your best weapon to fight abusive take down notices and get your video restored. But because YouTube's copyright school doesn't teach you that, not many people will know you can do this. So it's your job to tell them and pass the word. Can you do that?