A federal appeals court has ruled that YouTube is not obligated under U.S. copyright law to actively search its platform for infringing content beyond responding to formal takedown notices.
In a unanimous decision issued Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit upheld a lower court ruling in favor of YouTube, rejecting claims by a Spanish film producer that the video platform must identify and remove additional unauthorized clips once it receives notice of infringement.
The panel concluded that YouTube retains protection under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, or DMCA, so long as it responds properly to takedown requests and does not turn a blind eye to specific violations brought to its attention.
“The simple accumulation of adequately addressed DMCA takedown requests alone cannot amount to red flag knowledge of other infringing activity,” the court wrote, adding that such circumstances do not strip YouTube of its safe-harbor protections.
The court also rejected the argument that a takedown request targeting one infringing video requires YouTube to remove all other uploads containing the same copyrighted material.
“This is not a plausible or workable reading of the DMCA,” the judges said, noting that the law does not impose an obligation on platforms to apply automated copyright tools universally or retroactively.
The court emphasized that YouTube’s Content ID system, which allows rights holders to detect and manage copyrighted material, is not required to be deployed automatically for all content or all users.
The lawsuit was filed in 2021 by producer Carlos Vasallo and his company, Athos Overseas Ltd. Corp., who alleged that YouTube failed to adequately prevent unauthorized uploads of his films.
Vasallo claimed that YouTube acknowledged years earlier that it could easily detect the infringing content using its Content ID technology but declined to do so unless he agreed to conditions that included revenue sharing and limits on past claims.
YouTube denied those allegations and argued that the DMCA does not require platforms to independently investigate or locate infringing material beyond what copyright owners specifically identify.
In 2023, a federal judge in Florida granted summary judgment to YouTube, finding no evidence that the company had encouraged infringement or profited from the allegedly infringing clips at issue.
The appellate court agreed, stating that copyright law places the burden of identifying infringing content on rights holders, not on online platforms acting as intermediaries.
“Because YouTube has no duty to investigate infringement beyond the specific clips identified,” the lower court correctly ruled in the company’s favor, the panel said.
The decision reinforces long-standing interpretations of the DMCA that shield online platforms from liability when they promptly comply with valid takedown notices. It also limits attempts to expand platform responsibility through litigation rather than legislation.
Attorneys for both sides declined to comment following the ruling.
Case: Athos Overseas Ltd. Corp. v. YouTube Inc. et al. Case No. 23-13156 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
