Why was my video set to private?

Vimeo automatically scans videos to identify material that matches third-party content protected by copyright.  When a video is identified as containing matching material, it will be set to private unless you act quickly to resolve the issue. 

In practice, this means that content uploaded by Vimeo users may be scanned and set to private at any point. Once the video is set to private, it will only be viewable by the user who uploaded it and will not be shareable. 

What you can do

If you receive an email notification informing you that your video has been set to private because it has been identified as containing material that matches third-party content, you may:

• replace the video with a version that contains only content you own or are authorized to use; 
• swap the content in your video using Vimeo’s editing tools and royalty-free content (you can read about how to do this here); 
• delete the audio in your video;
• delete your video; or 
• appeal our decision. You may only appeal if you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification (for example, your video does not contain the content identified in the match), or one of the following applies:
  1. If you are the original author and copyright holder. 
  2. If you have a license to use the content and you provide a copy of the license from a reputable source, showing you are authorized to use the content (including geographic scope). 
  3. If the content used is not protected by copyright, for example, it is in the public domain, or it is not sufficiently original. Or, if your use of the content is allowed by a copyright exception or limitation, such as “fair dealing” or “fair use.” These are cases where the user that uploads the content is allowed to use copyrighted material without the prior authorization of rights holders. Such uses may be one of the following:
     1. quotation, criticism, review, caricature, pastiche, and parody;
     2. scientific research;
     3. teaching and educational purposes; and
     4. preservation of cultural heritage.

You can read more about what qualifies as “fair use” here.

Note: If none of the above apply to your content, your appeal may be dismissed.