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Itch.io Taken Down by Funko

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Re: Itch.io Taken Down by Funko

#101

Post by CaptainFever »

leafo wrote: post #31

I'm the one running itch.io, so here's some more context for you: From what I can tell, some person made a fan page for an existing Funko Pop video game (Funko Fusion), with links to the official site and screenshots of the game. The BrandShield software is probably instructed to eradicate all "unauthorized" use of their trademark, so they sent reports independently to our host and registrar claiming there was "fraud…

I really wish BrandShield didn't use AI as a marketing term. It just looks like it's doing a generic ctrl-F on webpages?

Then things like this happen, and people think "ooh AI is bad, the bubble must burst" when this has nothing to do with that in the first place, and the real issue was that they sent a "fraud/phishing report" rather than a "trademark infringement" report.

Then I also wish that people who knew better, that this really has nothing to do with AI (like, this is obviously not autonomously making decisions any more than a regular program is), to stop blindly parroting and blaming it as a way to get more clicks, support and rage.

Re: Itch.io Taken Down by Funko

#102

Post by [deleted] »

zo1 wrote: post #52
juped wrote: post #14

Everyone involved in this is terrible except itch.io; it's a shame litigation, the available method for redressing this, is often avoided due to the high expense.

As a naive and new adult entering the world, I would have assumed that all you need to do is report this to your police/government, and they'll start a case, preliminarily determine that "Yeah, some sort of fraud happened" and then proceed to start a court case against the accused party so that a jury/judge can determine it's validity. The fact that lawyers and the "lawyer system", in conjunction with prosecutorial o…

[deleted]

Re: Itch.io Taken Down by Funko

#103

Post by conradfr »

Luker88 wrote: post #84
paxys wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like it's better to have a "do use" list for something as important as a domain name registrar. - Namecheap - Cloudflare - Route 53 (if on AWS) Any others?

Any recommendations for people looking for a strictly European registrar?

Infomaniak

Netim

Re: Itch.io Taken Down by Funko

#104

Post by rpastuszak »

leafo wrote: post #31

I'm the one running itch.io, so here's some more context for you: From what I can tell, some person made a fan page for an existing Funko Pop video game (Funko Fusion), with links to the official site and screenshots of the game. The BrandShield software is probably instructed to eradicate all "unauthorized" use of their trademark, so they sent reports independently to our host and registrar claiming there was "fraud…

Is it possible/worth to hold them financially accountable for this? (them being IWMN or BrandShield)

Re: Itch.io Taken Down by Funko

#105

Post by masklinn »

runevault wrote: post #83
oneeyedpigeon wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's very unlikely that anything criminal has happened here, so government is irrelevant. I'm not even sure we're seeing any malevolence, just rank incompetence.

Not Criminal but invalid DMCA takedowns do open you up to lawsuits. I'm curious if both sides (aka the registrar and Funko) are liable or only Funko.

> invalid DMCA takedowns do open you up to lawsuits

Invalid takedowns don’t open you up to anything. The only risk to takedowns is misrepresenting the purported owner but that’s not the case here and the risk would be from Funko not Itch.

Much of the reason for DMCA abuse is that beyond the notice being assumed legitimate there is basically no risk to the complaining party until they dispute a counter-notification.

Not that this is relevant in this case, as it was not a DMCA takedown. A takedown notice would have been addressed to Itch.

Re: Itch.io Taken Down by Funko

#107

Post by oneeyedpigeon »

CaptainFever wrote: post #101
leafo wrote: post #31

I'm the one running itch.io, so here's some more context for you: From what I can tell, some person made a fan page for an existing Funko Pop video game (Funko Fusion), with links to the official site and screenshots of the game. The BrandShield software is probably instructed to eradicate all "unauthorized" use of their trademark, so they sent reports independently to our host and registrar claiming there was "fraud…

I really wish BrandShield didn't use AI as a marketing term. It just looks like it's doing a generic ctrl-F on webpages? Then things like this happen, and people think "ooh AI is bad, the bubble must burst" when this has nothing to do with that in the first place, and the real issue was that they sent a "fraud/phishing report" rather than a "trademark infringement" report. Then I also wish that people who knew better…

I fear that ship has already sailed. I think the grifters and scammers have already abused the term enough that even decent uses of it are now tainted. I know that the two aren't strictly the same, but I would suggest using "Machine Learning" instead, which I think has more respectable connotations.

Re: Itch.io Taken Down by Funko

#108

Post by sli »

MortyWaves wrote: post #87
kallistisoft wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've been using IONOS (formerly 1und1) for the last 20 years for all of my DNS and hosting needs and couldn't be happier. Their uptime, non-obtrusive policies, and customer support have all been top notch . Can't recommend enough. As an example; I had a dedicated server that I was leasing that I wanted to upgrade, the sales tech noticed that the plan I was currently on had been retired/replaced and credited my accoun…

Their extremely weird and annoying adverts in the UK have ensured I will never use any of their services.

Back when I was using them, their ToS disallowed a whole lot of perfectly benign content, like pictures of celebrities. If you had a blog about movies and posted a picture of an actor, your account would get deactivated and your data simply deleted. I wouldn't ever trust them for anything I care about.

Re: Itch.io Taken Down by Funko

#110

Post by officialchicken »

conradfr wrote: post #97
jamil7 wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They used to be really good, independent registrar from New Zealand but I think got acquired sometime a few years ago and went down hill.

The same thing happened to Gandi.

Gandi went sour when the original French company was forced to open a separate company for the US several years before being sold. IIRC it was related EU privacy but they publicly stated it was about credit card processing.
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