I'm not saying Google should adjudicate on the copyright ownership. (In fact they probably should explicitly avoid doing so, as you point out.) What they shoul

I'm not saying Google should adjudicate on the copyright ownership. (In fact they probably should explicitly avoid doing so, as you point out.) What they should, in my opinion do, is ensure that if a claim is made, and it's then objected to - that the claimant has a realistic risk of direct financial penalty for doing so fraudulently. Google should demand all relevant documentation for both parties before accepting or acting on a disputed claim, so that either or both of them have a lawyer/court ready package of the specific claims, counterclaims, and identities of everybody involved. I also think it would be smart and desirable for Google to have an internal mediation system with a penalty enforceable by T&Cs for Google Accounts. If, for example, Sony Music's lawyers incorrectly claim copyright on a content-creators piano performance of a public domain work (which has happened more than once), and the performer objects, it would be nice if Sony had the option to say "Ooops, sorry, charge our Google account the $500 erroneous claim fee, and pay it to the content-creator" to avoid having the content-creator's lawyer slam dunk them in court with the documentation Google provides as above. There should also be the same sort of "three strike and you're excluded from all google services forever" nuclear option, that applies equally to copyright claimants as it does to content creators, and also applies equally to Sony Music and VengefulFlame's legal identity. Sony need 100% to be at-risk of having _their_ content deleted from Youtube and their Google accounts permanently revoked for sending fraudulent copyright claims, just the same as the rest of us risk having our Google accounts shut down for illegally uploading Sony's copyright works.