A YouTube copyright strike is a copyright policing practice used by YouTube for the purpose of managing copyright infringement and complying with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) is the basis for the design of the YouTube copyright strike system. For YouTube to retain DMCA safe harbor protection, it must respond to copyright infringement claims with a notice and take down process. YouTube's own practice is to issue a "YouTube copyright strike" on the user accused of copyright infringement. When a YouTube user has 3 strikes, then YouTube cancels all of that user's YouTube accounts, removes all of their videos, and refuses to allow that user to have another YouTube account.
Some users have expressed concern that the strike process is unfair to users. The complaint is that the system assumes guilt of YouTube users and takes the side of copyright holders even when no infringement has occurred.
YouTube and Nintendo were criticised by Cory Doctorow, a writer for the blog Boing Boing, due to them reportedly treating video game reviewers unfairly by threatening them with strikes.
Copyright strikes have also been issued against creators themselves, as happened when Miracle of Sound's channel was hit with multiple copyright strikes as a result of automated strikes by the distributor of their own music.