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Fake Nintendo lawyer is scaring YouTubers, and its not clear YouTube can stop it

theverge.com

21–30 of 201 posts

Re: Fake Nintendo lawyer is scaring YouTubers, and its not clear YouTube can stop it

#21
post #2

The system is broken and I can't see a way to fix it. Maybe pay to send a takedown notice?

Fraudulent claims — those in which the filer knew or should have known that they did not hold any copyright being infringed upon nor were they duly authorized to act on behalf of another party whose copyright was being infringed upon — should be treated as such, with exposure to civil and criminal penalties for the individuals involved as well as their employer.

Platforms should only accept takedown requests through channels in which a person has credibly identified themselves so that they can be held accountable in this way.

Re: Fake Nintendo lawyer is scaring YouTubers, and its not clear YouTube can stop it

#22

Impersonating with intent to damage is legal?

When the penalty for frivolous and fake dmca takedowns is basically non-existent, it practically is.

DMCA works on a "takedown first, ask questions later" basis. Therefore, the solution is to flood YouTube and Google with massive, frivolous DMCA requests targeting the creators of DMCA like Microsoft, Apple, and Disney. They'll solve the problem if it affects them, maybe.

Re: Fake Nintendo lawyer is scaring YouTubers, and its not clear YouTube can stop it

#23
post #15
post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The problem with any loser-pays or adjacent system is that you inherently favor anyone with deep pockets even more than the system does today.

It's "fake" lawyers, so I doubt they have deep pockets.

In this particular case but you make it hard for the fake "little people" to pursue claims and you make it hard for the real "little people" to do so as well while not really inconviencing large corporations at all.

Re: Fake Nintendo lawyer is scaring YouTubers, and its not clear YouTube can stop it

#25
post #2

The system is broken and I can't see a way to fix it. Maybe pay to send a takedown notice?

FRAND registry of copyrighted works. The registry would be provably connected to the creator, the royalty rate would be published ahead of time based on use. Infringement could be seen as accidental at first instance and royalty rates charged after discovery. Copyrighted work not registered? Then you are free to attempt your own single distributor network without legal protection, you can always register it some time…

DMCA is working exactly as intended: the asymmetry is the house advantage, keeping IP holders in the green and consumers in fear of their power. Any innocent casualties who were benefiting culture and society are acceptable losses. It's not going to change as long as they keep buying politicians.

Re: Fake Nintendo lawyer is scaring YouTubers, and its not clear YouTube can stop it

#26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When the penalty for frivolous and fake dmca takedowns is basically non-existent, it practically is.

DMCA works on a "takedown first, ask questions later" basis. Therefore, the solution is to flood YouTube and Google with massive, frivolous DMCA requests targeting the creators of DMCA like Microsoft, Apple, and Disney. They'll solve the problem if it affects them, maybe.

DMCA is for user generated content on platforms, so microsoft wouldn't have a lot of surface-area to target. That said, youtube gives preferential treatment to the largest creators and companies. Apple and Disney could easily call up their manager Jerry at Youtube and deal with frivolous takedowns. Small creators often have no direct contact with a human at youtube and have X as their best option for contact. Unless they know the process and have enough money for a lawyer, they're shit out of luck.

Re: Fake Nintendo lawyer is scaring YouTubers, and its not clear YouTube can stop it

#28

Impersonating with intent to damage is legal?

When the penalty for frivolous and fake dmca takedowns is basically non-existent, it practically is.

Seems to me like it's still fraud, by definition? If you monetize your content you can prove loss, if a competitor is engaging in the fraud even better!

Those people being targeted by this troll should band together and sue.

Re: Fake Nintendo lawyer is scaring YouTubers, and its not clear YouTube can stop it

#29
I worry about let's plays (especially let's plays without commentary). They pretty clearly exist in a "yes, this is copyright infringement but yes, they are generally considered positive for a game" space.

The moment some game creator decides to test this will get very interesting. Not good interesting.

Re: Fake Nintendo lawyer is scaring YouTubers, and its not clear YouTube can stop it

#30
It is perfectly clear that YouTube can stop it. As the article points out, we know there are things YouTube can do because those are the very same things The Verge asked about and YouTube refused to answer. The DMCA is broken, yes, but YouTube has made it worse with their kind-of-but-not-actually-DMCA counter-claim process.

If they really wanted to solve it, here's an idea: if you get a takedown notice you also get a button that says "I am sure my content does not infringe copyright and I'm willing to go to court for it". YouTube reinstates your content and, if the entity with the claim disagrees, they can take you personally to court. Is this good? No, but that's on the DMCA. Is it better than now, when you have no recourse? I'd say yes.

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