YouTube Studio has a tool that checks for copyright violations during upload

YouTube has rolled out a YouTube Studio tool that checks for possible copyright violations during the video upload process. According to a screenshot shared by social media consultant Matt Navarra (by way of XDA Developers), the tool, which is called Checks, examines a video for "any copyright issues that may restrict its visibility."

Creators can address any issues that emerge before the video is published. They'll see details about the problem, including the timecode and the impact it will have on the video.

The Checks system is about reducing the number of videos that have copyright claims or issues that limit ads, according to YouTube. The copyright checks usually take under three minutes and ad suitability checks are typically wrapped up within two minutes. Checks will allow creators to avoid having to upload videos as unlisted to find out if visibility or monetization will be restricted when it's made public.

Creators can publish their video while checks are running but they run the risk of their video being limited if the system finds any problems.

Presumably, Checks harnesses YouTube's Content ID system, which monitors the service for copyright issues. Copyright owners who find violations through Content ID can block a video from being viewed, monetize it themselves or track viewership stats. YouTube can also ban channels over copyright infringements.

Even if this system doesn't find any issues, copyright owners can manually file infringement claims after the video is live. Still, it should help to protect users from and accidental violations or having to go through the trouble of dealing with copyright claims. It could reduce instances of piracy on YouTube too.

Update 3/17 3:11PM ET: Added some more details about the Checks system and updated the headline.