Feb 6, 2025
Step-By-Step Guide on Handling TikTok Copyright Infringement
If you share your videos on TikTok, you may have received a DMCA takedown notice from the platform. This means someone has accused you of copyright infringement, or the platform thinks you might be violating someone else's copyright. When you receive a notice like this, it can be stressful. You might worry about getting sued or what will happen to your TikTok account. You may even panic and delete the video, but this can be a mistake. Instead, you can respond confidently to TikTok copyright issues. This article will help you understand copyright infringement, how it relates to TikTok, and how to resolve issues quickly while keeping your videos live.
Bustem is a helpful DMCA Takedown Google tool for TikTok copyright issues. Their copycat detection tool helps you find copies, or doppelgängers of your TikTok videos so you can identify and address any copyright infringement before it becomes a problem.
Table of Contents
What Counts as Copyright Infringement on TikTok?
Unpacking TikTok's Copyright Policies
TikTok follows copyright laws, which means users cannot post content they do not own or have permission to use. Copyright infringement occurs when a copyrighted work is used without permission from its owner. Common types of infringement on TikTok include using copyrighted music without a proper license, reposting videos from other creators without credit or permission, and incorporating copyrighted movie clips, images, or artwork. TikTok’s automated detection system and manual reporting are methods of enforcement.
The Music Modernization Act’s Impact On TikTok Copyright Infringement
On January 1st, 2021, the Music Modernization Act established a new blanket licensing system. Facilitated by the Mechanical Licensing Collective, this system is one of many steps in the ongoing battle to distribute royalties to their rightful copyright owners worldwide. Historically, songwriters and musicians received mechanical royalties every time their song was recorded, reproduced, or physically sold.
This intellectual property system has been streamlined globally through the WTO’s Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights Agreement (TRIPS) and European initiatives to increase patent and copyright protections. These systems worked relatively well for physical and digitally downloaded music, but allocating royalties has become much more complex as streaming, subscription-based, and ad-based platforms for music gain popularity.
The Impact of TikTok on Artists' Control and Compensation: Navigating the Value Gap in the Digital Age
When artists lose control of their creative property and are not justly compensated for their work, a “value-gap” is created, which disincentives the artistic process of making music. The expansion of this value gap threatens the livelihood of musicians, and some artists may attempt to keep their music from crossing international boundaries to maintain control of their legal rights or stop making music altogether. The struggle to identify and match musical works with their owners has existed internationally since we first began to write music. Still, today’s platforms, such as TikTok, make the issue even more complicated, as they post and re-post music without the artist’s permission and transmit the sound to listeners worldwide.
TikTok's Growth and Revenue in Music
TikTok, launched in 2016 in China and 2017 internationally, has grown exponentially over the past several years. In 2021, for the first year ever, TikTok revenue was included in the U.S. Recorded Music Revenues report, and it was found to be contributing to a 24% increase in revenue from music. Internationally, TikTok generated nearly 4 billion dollars in revenue in 2021. TikTok is growing quickly and could transform the spread of music globally. It is unclear how much of this rapidly shared music will be attributed to its rightful owners and, if it is attributed, whether those artists will be compensated.
How TikTok's Algorithms Work Against Musicians
Daniel Lawrence, writing for the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law, associates the recent rapid expansion of the value gap in music with streaming on the video platform YouTube. Lawrence identifies one aspect of YouTube mainly linked to the value gap as the YouTube's video recommendation system. This system, or algorithm, uses data mining to recommend content that you are interested in after your video is over. TikTok, similarly, has built its success through its “For You Page,” which uses an even stronger algorithm to keep recommendations relevant and keep you watching for longer. Both platforms exist as “ad-supported” platforms, which allows them to fit into copyright safe-harbor provisions in various countries.
The Trouble With TikTok's SoundOn Feature
TikTok only recently integrated artist royalties for plays of music through a new feature called SoundOn. It previously relied exclusively on user uploads with no requirement for artist credit. Artists can utilize the latest feature to get ahead of copyright issues and upload their work, earning them royalties per play. There is no way to ensure their upload will be the most viral “sound,” an infringing copy can just as quickly rise to popularity, re-creating the fair-use and safe harbor issues presented previously.
The Struggle for Accurate Music Attribution on TikTok: How Misattributions and Misuse Hurt Artists' Rights
A 2021 study showed that 33% of all sounds uploaded to TikTok were misattributed to an incorrect author. The study also identified the three most common misattribution practices on TikTok:
Reuploading
Appropriating
Renaming sounds
This puts TikTok further behind YouTube in crediting artists. The similarities between these platforms illustrate how TikTok can pose an equal or even more significant threat to musicians and how legislation is inadequate to protect artists as their work spreads online.
Copyright Protection Globally
U.S.A.
There have been attempts to help artists maintain control over their work in the U.S., such as the Digital Millennium Copyright Act enacted in 1998. As many artists co-signed in their 2016 petition, the “DMCA” framework is no longer adequate to protect in the age of streaming. Frustrations with YouTube triggered the 2016 petition, but the TikTok platform exasperated many complaints. DMCA “added section 512 to the U.S. Copyright Act, which implements liability shielding safe harbors for online service providers that store information posted by users”. The original goal of this provision was to help foster the growth of internet services, but the actual use has evolved.
DMCA Safe Harbor Loopholes: How Outdated Legislation Favors Ad-Supported Platforms Over Artists
The modern issue DMCA poses is that the companies that take advantage of the Act’s safe harbor provisions (YouTube, TikTok) did not exist when it was drafted in 1998. The drafters could not have imagined what the internet looks like now regarding music-sharing. The result is that while the user experience of finding music through YouTube or TikTok (ad-based) vs. Spotify or Apple Music (subscription-based) may be equally appealing, the revenue returned to artists on platforms like YouTube. Tiktok is minuscule compared to Spotify or Apple Music because the ad-supported platforms “are not required to obtain a license to host user-uploaded content” under the DMCA safe harbor.
The Flaws of the “Notice and Takedown” System: How Loopholes Enable Repeat Infringement
A leading case in the U.S., Viacom International Inc. Youtube, established that these platforms are not liable to artists as long as they can meet three requirements:
They cannot know that infringement is occurring
They must not receive a financial benefit directly attributable to the infringing activity when they have a degree of control over that activity
They must act expeditiously to remove content if they discover infringement.
The real-life result of this has been the “notice and takedown” process on YouTube, which leaves room for the infringer to counter-respond, slow the takedown process down, or just re-upload the infringing work. Tremendous amounts of infringing music on YouTube remain unattributed to the artists who created the work.
Fair Use vs. Copyright Infringement: Why TikTok’s Approach Creates Legal Gray Areas
On TikTok, the platform relies on the fact that its videos mostly fall under “fair use” to argue that it does not have to seek out copyright issues on its site actively and will only respond to copyright infringement reports directly from:
Copyright owners
Their attorneys
Agencies
Ad-based platforms such as TikTok do not fit squarely into the DMCA’s framework, which leads to an undesirable result of infringing music spreading wildly on the app without artist control or knowledge. In sum, the spread of music on TikTok can lead to missed royalties, inaccurate artist attribution, and unchecked infringement in the U.S. market.
TikTok Copyright Policies in Asia
China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mongolia, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Singapore have implemented notice and takedown procedures that function like the US DMCA laws. While the laws vary by country, most mirror the three requirements outlined in section 512 of DMCA regarding notice and knowledge of infringement. China faces the additional challenge of controlling a music market with a prevalence of piracy, which substantially accelerates its value gap. Lawrence theorizes that the country’s history of piracy has influenced Chinese streaming services to ignore legitimate takedown notices in favor of leaving infringing content up. China has recently cracked down significantly on domestic piracy, which has been encouraging for the state of creative content in the country.
TikTok’s Role in Shaping Music Discovery Trends in the Asia Pacific Region
Recent research indicates that TikTok is advancing the music-discovery process throughout the Asia Pacific Region. Users in Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines are twice as likely to use short video apps to find new music as U.S. listeners. In Indonesia, these apps help 77% of people discover new music. While other short video apps have entered the market, TikTok (which goes by the name “Douyin” in China) remains the leading platform for this type of content in Asia.
Opportunities and Risks for Artists in TikTok’s Asian Music Discovery Landscape
On the one hand, TikTok’s prominence in discovering new music in Asia is exciting because it brings music to audiences who may never have heard it. This could benefit artists because more ears are hearing their music, and then potentially researched and downloaded by the users or directly attributed to them if the sound uses the TikTok SoundOn feature. On the other hand, if the sound on TikTok was uploaded by someone other than the artist and is protected by a DMCA-style safe harbor, the artist will lose out on any TikTok revenue. The result is that Asian and non-Asian artists may find that their music has spread to countries they have never even stepped foot in. Still, due to TikTok’s lack of copyright protection, the work has the potential to be wholly misattributed or unattributed in the Asian market.
TikTok Copyright Policies in Europe
The European Commission is considered advanced in addressing the value gap for musicians. Recent legislation and efforts by European music organizations have led to a new “DSM Directive,” which requires member states to hold user-upload service providers accountable for hosting unlicensed content. While there are still a few exceptions, this directive severely narrows safe harbor immunity. It makes content-sharing services liable for “making available protected copyright works and other subject matter.” This puts the ball into the platform’s court, requiring them to prevent copyright infringement rather than proactively react.
Public Backlash and Controversy Surrounding the DSM Directive
The DSM Directive passed in April 2019 but was not without controversy. Several public protests were held in opposition to the legislation, and petitions also gained popularity throughout Europe. A significant source of opposition appears to have been content creators on platforms like YouTube and Twitch and journalists who feared the changes would deprive them of their author’s rights. In particular, tensions existed around Articles 15 and 17 of the directive. Article 15 reinforces the rights of news publishers, and Article 17 lays out the new obligations for online content-sharing platforms. Resistance in Europe was widespread, with protests and turnouts of hundreds of thousands.
Support for the DSM Directive and Ongoing Legal Challenges
On the flip side, many acknowledged and supported the position that while YouTube controls 60% of all streaming audio business, it pays out only 11% of artist revenue, which is resolved by the directive. Since the DSM directive was implemented, IP lawyers across Europe have tracked its progress throughout key jurisdictions. Articles 15 and 17 remain the most controversial across the European Union, and there are still questions about how the Articles will be applied in practice. The takeaway from this implementation is not yet clear. Still, the International Review of Intellectual Property and Competition Law concludes that this is “a testimony to the complexity of copyright,” the conflicting interests that underlie these issues make it clear that continued dialogue in Europe and internationally is “unavoidable and welcome.”
Implications of the DSM Directive for TikTok and Emerging Platforms
With TikTok usage growing every day among young Europeans, the issues that the DSM Directive attempts to resolve with YouTube and other content-sharing services are more relevant than ever. Setting a system that values the attribution of creative property and discourages widespread infringement will undoubtedly impact TikTok as the directive is implemented in more European countries. Although results are not yet measurable, based on the directive’s goals and the anticipated effect on YouTube, I believe the DSM Directive is a positive step towards helping European artists maintain control over their creative property in the digital space on TikTok and beyond.
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Step-by-Step Guide on Handling Tiktok Copyright Infringement
Locate the TikTok Copyright Infringement Form
First, you must navigate to TikTok’s copyright infringement tool. This might be frustrating if you’ve never visited this page before, but lucky for you, we have. To go to the copyright reporting page, follow this URL: https://www.tiktok.com/legal/report/Copyright.
Fill Out Basic Contact Information
Now that you’ve arrived at the copyright infringement form for TikTok, we can start filling it out and reporting illegal videos. The first section of their form asks you to fill in your contact information.
Here’s what TikTok needs from you:
Your Full Name: This is where you fill in your name.
Name of the Copyright Owner: This is where you fill in the name of the copyright owner. This could be your brand’s name, your name if you’re the owner or reporting on someone else’s behalf, or the brand’s or person you’re acting on behalf of.
Your Email Address: This is the address to which TikTok will send a confirmation email. They’ll also use it to contact you if they need additional information.
Your Physical Address: This will be where you’re located.
Your Phone Number: TikTok wants to know your phone number. From our experience, they’ll not contact you via phone.
Prove Ownership of the Copyrighted Content
The third step of reporting a copyright-infringing video to TikTok is proving you’re the copyright owner. They need this information to verify that you’re not acting on an illegal basis and are reporting videos illegally.
You must select which relationship to the copyright owner applies to your report. You can choose from the following options:
I am the copyright owner
I am a host, office, or director (non-legal) of the copyright owner
I am the legal counsel to the copyright owner
I am an employee of the copyright owner
I am an authorized agent of the copyright owner
You must provide proof for TikTok to verify that you’re the copyright owner of the content you want to report. What can you deliver as proof?
License Agreements
Official Certificates of Copyright Ownership
Screenshots of the original content and where it’s sold/shown.
Providing Proof and Authorization for Copyright Claims
You don’t need to submit all three of these types of proof. One will do but do know that providing more proof will improve your chances of getting a copyright-infringing video removed from TikTok. If you’re acting on behalf of someone else, you also need to provide a document stating that you are authorized to act on your client’s behalf. Get your client to sign a power of attorney or another document stating that you can act on his behalf.
Provide the Copyright Infringing Videos and Explanation
Now that you’ve provided essential information and proved you’re the authorized copyright owner, you can start submitting the illegal video URLs. The first field is where you provide the URLs to the illegal TikTok videos you want to report. In this field, TikTok will give examples of accepted URLs. After submitting the illegal TikTok videos, you must describe my copyrighted content. First, you’ll have to select which content type fits my copyrighted work best.
You can choose from the following options:
Video
Original Music
Non-Music Audio
Photo / Picture
Logo
Other
TikTok will ask you for a short description of my copyrighted content. Try and write a complete yet compact description of your content.
Step Five: Sign the Copyright Infringement Notice
The final step in removing a copyright-infringing video from TikTok is to check a few boxes and to sign it with your name. You must check a few boxes before you can sign the infringement notice you’ve filled in. These are standard copyright infringement statement boxes that need to be checked truthfully. Verify that you’ve filled in this notice with a good faith belief, that you state under penalty of perjury that you’ve filled in everything accurately, and that you acknowledge that the notice may be sent to the infringing uploader. Sign the form by writing down your name and click “Send” to submit your complaint.
What Happens After You Report a Copyright Infringement Notice
Your copyright infringement form has now been sent to TikTok, and they’re now made aware of an illegal video on their platform. What happens now? You’ll receive a confirmation email from TikTok stating that they’ve received your complaint and that a team member will look at it as soon as possible.
Understanding TikTok’s Response to Copyright Infringement Notices
Afterwards, you’ll receive an email in which TikTok will give you one of the following results:
TikTok has accepted your copyright infringement notice and removed the illegal video from their platform.
TikTok has received your notice, but they need some critical information. They’ll ask you to reply to their email with the required information to complete the report.
TikTok rejects your notice because they can’t verify that you’re the copyright owner or for other reasons. They will let you know why they’ve rejected your notice. If this happens, you can try and fill in the report again and give TikTok additional proof.
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How To Avoid TikTok Copyright Infringements
Take Advantage of TikTok’s Music Library
TikTok’s music library offers a ton of material to help you get started with your video. You can use copyrighted music tracks in your TikTok videos if you add them directly from TikTok’s music library. The background music in TikTok’s library is available for all TikTok users, so you’ll be safe from potential copyright infringements if you stick with these tracks.
Get Permission to Use Copyrighted Music
If there’s a specific track you want to use, contact the copyright owner directly to receive explicit permission to use their music. Remember that you’ll need to have the proper license for this instance. Oftentimes, the creator of a specific song isn’t the copyright holder, but a third-party publishing company is. Music licensing companies such as Epidemic Sound, Soundstripe, and Premium Beat offer tracks for commercial use for a small fee, allowing users to include copyrighted music in their content safely.
Create Your Original Music
Another method for avoiding copyright issues is to create your music simply! While this isn’t the most straightforward choice, it can be an excellent option for creatives to showcase their talents and safely add tunes to more videos. You’ll need to add original music to your video during editing, as TikTok doesn’t allow users to upload sounds directly from their library.
Use TikTok’s Copyright Check Tool
Not sure if the track you’re using is properly licensed or fair use? Thankfully, the TikTok app offers creator tools to help with this. To access the video sound copyright check, follow the steps below:
Tap the three horizontal lines on the top right corner of your profile page.
Tap the settings gear icon on the top right corner.
Make sure the Video Sound Copyright Check is toggled to ON.
This will automatically turn on copyright detection, and the app will check your music whenever you upload a new post to ensure you’re not violating any copyrights.
How to Dispute Copyright Claims on TikTok
TikTok will send an in-app notification if your TikTok video violates copyright laws. From here, you’ll be able to dispute the claim, or you can submit your appeal using the Counter Notification Form. Remember that you’ll need evidence to support your counterclaim, TikTok.
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