Defending the ‘Little Guy’ from Bogus DMCA Takedown Bullies

[shamu726]

There is an increasing trend of companies using the DMCA to censor legitimate content, simply because they find it an embarrassment. In a sorry incident this weekend a self-confessed “little guy” with few resources was targeted with a strike on his channel, even though be broke no laws and made no money. Standing up for people like this in the face of company bullying must be a priority.
 

 
There can be no doubt that copyright holders have a huge task ahead of them if they are to make even the slightest dent in the availability of unauthorized online content. Google has received more than 200 million notices this year alone and it’s still a breeze to obtain almost anything within a few minutes.
 
In an operation of this scale mistakes will be made and we’ve seen on dozens of occasions how content has been taken down wrongfully. But while Google is increasingly sharp when it comes to rejecting false claims against its search listings, the same cannot be said about its approach to YouTube where the playing field is much more tricky.
 
While it can be easy to see that a link to a blockbuster movie or music album might be unlawful, judging whether each and every video uploaded to YouTube is legal would amount to a full-time job for hundreds of lawyers, something that is simply not realistic. Due to these limitations illegal content is uploaded every day, while at the same time companies exploit the situation to silence their critics.
 
Dean Salter is a regular guy. He loves football, lives in Essex (UK) and has a passion for video games. Together with a few friends he spends his spare time creating videos for their Game Over Man podcast on YouTube, a non-monetized video gaming channel put up there purely for fun and the enjoyment of others.
 

 
“We don’t have a dedicated audience of any sort, we just enjoy the idea of meeting up, discussing our opinions and excitements within the gaming world, record these discussions and then upload them to iTunes and release them on to the internet to who ever happens to stumble across them, free of charge of course,” he says.
 
Just recently Dean made a video about Infestation: Survivor Stories, a zombie survival game previously titled The War Z that was renamed after receiving negative reviews. Dean’s video review, which is pretty damn funny if a little unconventional, went up on YouTube. Here it is, well worth a couple of minutes viewing to appreciate the context of what follows.
 

 

Infestation by gameovermanpodcast

 
Anything illegal there? Absolutely not. But of course, the fact that it’s hosted in Vimeo pretty much predicts what has happened here. Following a copyright complaint from Hammerpoint Interactive, the company behind the game, the video has been taken down.
 

 
As readers will recall, last month famous game reviewer TotalBiscuit suffered a similar fate when Wild Games Studio censored his critical video of their game Day One: Garry’s Incident.
 
Commenting on his own woes, TotalBiscuit encapsulated the dilemma of users with less visibility than himself.
 
“I’ve gotta be honest, I am fortunate, my channel is large as is my following. I am backed by a great network with a lot of resources,” he said. “I can get my voice heard but what about the smaller channels that can’t?
 
TotalBiscuit’s problems were indeed widely covered in the press (after all, he has more than 1.3 million YouTube subscribers). Dean and his friends have only 66 subscribers, which is probably why they’re currently struggling to get the interest of the gaming press.
 
Also, the channel’s relative obscurity makes the perfect environment for the censors since after silencing it no one will care.
 
Wrong.
 
The entire point of sites like YouTube, the whole user-generated content movement, and even the Internet itself, is that anyone can have their voice heard. TotalBiscuit once had 66 subscribers, YouTube once had 66 subscribers and so did Google. Everyone has to start somewhere and abusing a law to bully someone offline and take their voice away is something that no company should be allowed to get away with.
 
Dean is currently awaiting a response from YouTube and Hammerpoint Interactive, whose awful website provides no contact details whatsoever. Let’s see what excuses they can come up with this time.
 
Update: The Vimeo video was taken down as well and it’s now hosted on Dailymotion.
 
 
Source: TorrentFreak

Edited November 19, 2013 by shamu726

[VileTouch]

gameoverman's account on vimeo is deleted as well ¬¬

here's a link to the vid in dailymotion

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x17cl8b_infestation_videogames

[jackieo]

I just laughed my ass off AWESOME VIDEO!

:wtf: Seriously? thats so mind numbing i cant even begin to contemplate the insanity! I make gaming videos too but nothing on the level of comedy

as above! Thats hands down a funny piece and i really dont see how it hurts the company at all, exposure is the name of the game online and if it aint seen, THEN IT AINT SEEN. BY ANYONE. he gave them free exposure and free advertising,in a way of using comedy as the device and brilliantly i might add.

fuckin shame. feel sorry for the guy i hope he prevails.

Edited November 19, 2013 by jackieo

[shamu726]

I just laughed my ass off AWESOME VIDEO!

:wtf: Seriously? thats so mind numbing i cant even begin to contemplate the insanity! I make gaming videos too but nothing on the level of comedy

as above! Thats hands down a funny piece and i really dont see how it hurts the company at all, exposure is the name of the game online and if it aint seen, THEN IT AINT SEEN. BY ANYONE. he gave them free exposure and free advertising,in a way of using comedy as the device and brilliantly i might add.

fuckin shame. feel sorry for the gut i hope he prevails.

My thoughts exactly. Given how negative the reception has been for this game, one would think he'd be glad for the exposure. I guess he doesn't believe in "no publicity is bad publicity" (or does he)?

In the end he just turned out to be another bully who can't take any criticism and will abuse the system to stifle any he doesn't like.

BTW I love the way the guy in the video used his shoe. LOL.

[jackieo]

I just laughed my ass off AWESOME VIDEO!

:wtf: Seriously? thats so mind numbing i cant even begin to contemplate the insanity! I make gaming videos too but nothing on the level of comedy

as above! Thats hands down a funny piece and i really dont see how it hurts the company at all, exposure is the name of the game online and if it aint seen, THEN IT AINT SEEN. BY ANYONE. he gave them free exposure and free advertising,in a way of using comedy as the device and brilliantly i might add.

fuckin shame. feel sorry for the gut i hope he prevails.

My thoughts exactly. Given how negative the reception has been for this game, one would think he'd be glad for the exposure. I guess he doesn't believe in "no publicity is bad publicity" (or does he)?

In the end he just turned out to be another bully who can't take any criticism and will abuse the system to stifle any he doesn't like.

BTW I love the way the guy in the video used his shoe. LOL.

LOL funny as hell he deserves some kind of award....ya he cant kill the zombies yet they 1 shot him. good stuff

[Zigen]

Unfortunate fact of life, when the big companies want to sue you or whatever, they have their corporate lawyers ready to bust your ass, when you want to sue them for something wrong they did to you, where are you going to find the resources and lawyers to fight your case?

[khashim]

Unfortunate fact of life, when the big companies want to sue you or whatever, they have their corporate lawyers ready to bust your ass, when you want to sue them for something wrong they did to you, where are you going to find the resources and lawyers to fight your case?

to make matters worse..the governments will often side with them...

life's not fair