What are copyright owners angry about lately? Apparently, unfavorable evaluations of third-price video games. (credit: Jim Sterling)

Four video creators will come under YouTube’s legal protection now, below a system unveiled today in a organization weblog post.

“We are offering legal support to a handful of videos that we believe represent clear fair utilizes which have been subject to DMCA takedowns,” writes YouTube copyright lawyer Fred Von Lohmann. “With approval of the video creators, we’ll preserve the videos reside on YouTube in the U.S., feature them in the YouTube Copyright Center as robust examples of fair use, and cover the price of any copyright lawsuits brought against them.”

The business can’t offer legal protection even to every video with a robust fair use defense, but Von Lohmann writes that “even the small number of videos we are able to safeguard will make a good impact on the whole YouTube ecosystem, guaranteeing YouTube remains a place exactly where creativity and expression can be rewarded.”