How to protect your videos
To protect your videos, keep your original files, register copyright for important work, and use YouTube Content ID if you qualify. Content ID claims matching uploads on YouTube only, so for other platforms use their copyright takedown forms. Content Credentials (C2PA) and watermarks help, but both are lost when a video is screen-recorded or re-encoded.
Then sign each finished video on the Trust Identity Protocol (TIP) by The AI Lab before you upload it. TIP is a free, open standard that keeps a permanent public record of who made the video, when, whether it was made by a person or with AI, and a fingerprint of the content. The record lives outside the file, so it is still there when a reupload strips the metadata.
Every option, honestly
What each way of protecting your videos does, and where it stops
These work together. Use more than one, and read the last column for each, including ours.
| Option | What it does | Where it stops |
|---|---|---|
| Copyright registration | Creates a legal record of ownership. In the U.S. it is required before you can sue over a U.S. work. | Does not find reuploads. |
| YouTube Content ID | Finds and claims matching uploads on YouTube. | YouTube only, and needs eligibility. |
| Platform takedown forms (DMCA and others) | Removes a specific copy you report. | One copy at a time, and you have to find each one. |
| Content Credentials (C2PA) and watermarks | Store provenance inside the file or mark the picture. | Lost or removable when a video is screen-recorded, cropped or re-encoded. |
| Trust Identity Protocol (TIP) by The AI Lab | Signs the work to your verified identity and records when it was made, how it was made (Original Human, AI-Assisted, AI-Generated or Mixed) and a fingerprint of the content, in a public record anyone can check for free. | Does not stop copying or AI training, and is not copyright registration. It is evidence of who made the work and whether it has changed. |
Step by step
How to protect your videos, in order
- Keep your original exports and project files.
- Before upload, sign each finished video on TIP, and the raw footage if you can.
- Register copyright for work that matters commercially.
- Enrol in YouTube Content ID through your network or distributor if you qualify.
- Put the record link or the Protected by proof on TIP badge in your descriptions and on your site.
About TIP
What the Trust Identity Protocol is
The Trust Identity Protocol (TIP) is an open standard from The AI Lab for proving who made a piece of content and whether it has changed. A person verifies once and gets a TIP-ID. Each time they publish, their own device signs the work with a post-quantum signature (ML-DSA-65, NIST FIPS 204), and the TIP Network records the signature, the time, an origin label and a fingerprint of the content. Anyone can check a record for free, with no account.
TIP does not stop copying, does not stop AI training and does not decide whether content is true. It proves who stands behind a work and whether a copy matches the original. It is governed in the open by the AI Trust Council, and the specification is public on GitHub. Signed work is called a Verifiable Asset.
Questions
Questions people ask
How do I stop people reuploading my videos?
You cannot stop every reupload. You can claim them. Content ID claims matching uploads on YouTube, and platform takedown forms remove copies elsewhere. A TIP record by The AI Lab, signed before your upload, gives you dated evidence that the original is yours for any of those claims.
How do I protect myself from a deepfake video?
Sign your genuine videos on TIP, so there is a verified record of what you actually published. A deepfake carries no record from you, and anyone can check. TIP does not detect or remove deepfakes. The full answer is at theailab.org/deepfake-protection.
What is the difference between C2PA and TIP?
C2PA stores provenance inside the video file, which is useful until the file is screen-recorded or re-encoded, when it is lost. TIP keeps the record outside the file, on a public network, matched by a fingerprint of the content. They work well together.
Do I need a watermark?
A visible watermark tells viewers whose video it is and discourages casual reuse, but it can be cropped or removed. Use it alongside a TIP record, which does not depend on anything in the picture.
Does TIP replace copyright registration for my videos?
No. Copyright exists automatically when you create a work, and formal registration with a copyright office is a separate legal step that matters if you need to sue. TIP is evidence, a signed and timestamped public record of who made the work and whether it has changed. It supports a copyright claim. It does not replace one.
Is TIP free?
Individuals can get a TIP-ID and start registering work for free at vp.theailab.org, and checking any record is free for everyone with no account. Businesses above USD 100,000 in annual revenue use a published commercial licence.
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