YouTubers
& Video Creators

It is almost always one contract with platform-specific addenda, not three separate deals. The brand deal sits with the YouTuber as the signing creator: review, redline, master template, and FTC disclosure all run through one engagement. Cross-platform performance terms attach as addenda; they rarely need separate contracts. Sister sub-audience pages cover platforms where the creator is the primary surface, like Influencers & Social Media Creators (forthcoming) for TikTok-led campaigns and Podcasters & Audio Creators for sponsored shows. Same firm, same engagement, regardless of where you start.

Document everything before you click anything: the termination email, every prior strike, every Content ID claim, every appeal you filed. The clock that matters next is the statutory counter-notice window under §512(g) of the DMCA, which governs how counter-notices reinstate removed content. A counter-notice consents to federal-court jurisdiction and triggers a perjury statement, so the first move is a written legal record, not a support ticket.

A counter-notice is a federal legal document; the risk is real but specific. You consent to federal-court jurisdiction in your address's district and sign a perjury statement saying you have a good-faith belief the takedown was a mistake. The claimant has a short statutory window to sue, or the platform restores the content. YouTube also can terminate accounts it views as filing "abusive" counter-notices, which is why a written claim-merit and fair-use analysis precedes the filing, not follows it.

A Content ID claim is a private match against the rightsholder's reference file; the rightsholder picks Block, Track, or Monetize. A copyright strike is a formal DMCA takedown filed under Title 17 §512. Three strikes terminate the channel under YouTube's repeat-infringer rule. Content ID disputes have an in-platform appeal path. Strikes require a federal counter-notice with perjury statement and federal-court jurisdiction consent.

Sometimes, but the answer turns on transformation, not duration. Fair use under §107 weighs four factors: purpose, nature of the work, amount used, and market effect. Reaction videos win when commentary substantially adds to the original (Hosseinzadeh v. Klein, S.D.N.Y. 2017; Equals Three v. Jukin, C.D. Cal. 2015). They lose when the source was ripped from a paid stream or when "pause-and-react" supplies no new meaning. The defense lives in a written fair-use opinion letter, not in the comments section.

Five clauses move money or move ownership: usage rights (campaign window vs. perpetual), exclusivity (category and duration), IP assignment (does the brand own your video after?), payment schedule plus kill fee, and FTC disclosure scope. Brand templates default to overreach on all five. The fastest read is the usage-rights paragraph; if it grants worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free use across all media, you negotiate before signing. SGL redlines those clauses in plain English with the talking points your manager or agent uses with the brand's counsel.

Yes, when there's a "material connection" to the brand. The FTC Endorsement Guides require clear and conspicuous disclosure of any financial, family, employment, or perk relationship. This includes free product and affiliate commissions, not just paid sponsorships. The disclosure goes in the video itself (audio plus on-screen), not buried in the description. Single-word tags like "ad" or "sponsored" work; "spon," "collab," and "partner" alone do not. Liability sits on you, not the brand.

A handle is platform permission; a federal trademark is legal ownership. With a registered mark you can stop a copycat channel using a confusingly similar name, take down counterfeit merchandise on Amazon and Etsy, and recover statutory damages and attorney fees in federal court. Handle ownership gives you none of that. USPTO trademark basics covers what's protectable: channel name, logo, and the catchphrases or slogans you have actually used in commerce on goods or services.

It is not too late to register, but registration timing changes what damages you can recover. Under §412 of Title 17, statutory damages and attorney fees are available only if the work was registered before the infringement began, or within three months of first publication. Older videos can still be registered to enable lawsuits and takedowns; you just collect actual damages and profits, not statutory awards. Group registration covers a video catalog in a single application, which is the practical path for most channel back-catalogs.

Multiple statutes give you a takedown path. State right-of-publicity laws (California Civil Code §3344, Tennessee's ELVIS Act) already let you sue for unauthorized AI replicas of voice or likeness. The DMCA covers your underlying video clips. The federal NO FAKES Act, endorsed by YouTube in April 2025, would create a notice-and-takedown framework specifically for AI-generated likenesses. SGL builds the documented likeness record, files multi-platform takedowns, and sends multi-statute demand letters. Sound-mark and signature-image trademark registrations widen the enforcement surface.

Subject matter, audience signals, and ad-targeting drive the classification, not vibes. The FTC's COPPA YouTube guidance lists the factors: animated characters, child celebrities, child-oriented activities, language, and empirical audience data. Adult-topic content (finance, politics, employment) is generally outside scope. Mixed-audience channels mark video by video. Civil penalties run up to $42,530 per violation; the $170M Google YouTube settlement is the precedent. A written classification memo with documented factors is the defense if the FTC ever asks.

Read the term, the exclusivity, the IP assignment, the audit rights, and the exit clause before you sign. MCNs lock creators into multi-year exclusivity with revenue shares that look reasonable on a clean exit and harsh on a contested one. The two failure modes are perpetual rights to your channel and indirect platform-payment hijacking through linked AdSense or talent-agency arrangements. SGL redlines the contract, runs the California Talent Agencies Act audit when the deal looks like talent representation, and negotiates the exit before you sign.