A Chinese state-run TV channel’s YouTube presence has been taken offline after repeatedly infringing the copyright of a California-based composer.

Kerry Muzzey’s music has been played in the background of TV shows like Glee and So You Think You Can Dance?—two productions that legally bought licences to play his music in their shows. But Muzzey, who is based in California, spends much of his days battling those who are less scrupulous, trying to reclaim the rights to his music that has been used illegally in the background of TV shows, movies, and YouTube videos.

Muzzey wages war with those who steal his music using YouTube’s ContentID system, which automatically tracks where copyrighted material has been used, and allows copyright owners to issue strikes that put a freeze on the infringing copyright. If a YouTube channel receives enough copyright strikes, it’s taken offline permanently—or terminated. Until that point, the videos remain offline, unless Muzzey and the infringers reach an agreement—at which point he can lift the claims.

That’s how it’s meant to work in theory. But in practice, Muzzey has found YouTube’s copyright claims system labyrinthine, and its rules unequally applied. 

Read the post on Fast Company.