Recover a Twitch Account After a DMCA Strike

Is this your situation?

Do this first

Which situation is yours?

• You think the notification was a mistake: consider a counter-notification.
• You received a notification of claimed infringement: seek a retraction by contacting the rights holder or agent directly.
• You licensed the music but used it in a way the license did not cover.
• You reached three strikes and worry about termination.
• You want to know when the strike expires.
• A streamer eligible to have a copyright strike removed receives an invitation to attend Copyright School.

How Twitch handles this

• Twitch issues a copyright strike when it sends a DMCA notification about a streamer's account.
• A streamer accrues a strike when Twitch receives a complete notification without a complete counter-notification or retraction.
• Twitch will terminate access if the account holder is determined to be a repeat infringer under the policy.
• A user is a repeat infringer under this policy after accruing three copyright strikes.
• Copyright strikes are not permanent, but remain on the account long enough for Twitch to assess termination.

Which recovery path is yours?

1. Do you believe the notification was sent by mistake or misidentification? You can dispute it by submitting a counter-notification or requesting a retraction from the rights holder.
2. Do you want to submit a counter-notification? A streamer can submit it to dmca-notifications@twitch.tv if the notification was due to mistake or misidentification.
3. Do you want to request a retraction instead? A retraction request must be emailed to dmca-notifications@twitch.tv from the same email address as the original notification.
4. Were you invited to Copyright School? Successfully completing Copyright School following an invitation removes one copyright strike from the account.
5. Have you reached three strikes? Twitch will terminate an account holder's access to the service if determined to be a repeat infringer.

What not to do

• Sending a retraction request from a different email Twitch cannot process retractions sent from a different email address than the original notification.Why it happens: You used a personal or newer email instead of the original one.
• Completing Copyright School without an invitation Completing Copyright School without an invitation will not decrement a copyright strike.Why it happens: You assumed any completion counts toward strike removal.
• Submitting an incomplete counter-notification Failure to provide the information required in a counter-notification could result in Twitch being unable to act on it.Why it happens: You left out required fields such as the channel name or affidavit.
• Assuming a counter-notification stops disputes going forward A complaining party may initiate legal action seeking a court order after a streamer submits a counter-notification.Why it happens: You treated the counter-notification as a final resolution.

What to have ready

• Confirm the material type Check if it is Live Stream, VOD, Clip, or Artwork. The notification states the material type.
• Locate the rights holder's email Check your Copyright Claims Manager. The contact email is there.
• Confirm the sender email A retraction must be emailed from the original notification's address. Your sending address matches it.
• Gather the channel name A counter-notification must include your Twitch channel name. The channel name is included.
• Gather the original URLs A counter-notification must include the URL(s) where the material appeared. The URLs are included.
• Check the strike record Strikes are not permanent but remain long enough to determine termination. Twitch keeps this record to decide.

Stop this happening again

Quick reference

Keeping track of who has access