YouTube has issued a statement regarding the recent flood of copyright claims that were issues to game-playing users.
Update: In an email sent to Game Informer, a YouTube spokesperson offered clarification as to why a sudden surge of copyright claims went out, citing recent changes to the MCN (multi-channel networks):
"Nothing illustrates the incredible growth and evolution of YouTube better than the enterprise class of businesses being built on the platform today. As these networks grow, we’re making product and policy updates that will help them operate at scale. We are also rolling out tools that will provide more transparency for creators and networks alike. This is part of our commitment to ensure that all enterprise partners can continue to thrive and be successful on YouTube.
We recently enabled Content ID scanning on channels identified as affiliates of MCNs," the representative told us. "This has resulted in new copyright claims for some users, based on policies set by the relevant content owners. As ever, channel owners can easily dispute Content ID claims if they believe those claims are invalid."
Original Story: Many a gamer has embraced the social wave of the future, recording and sharing videos of their gaming exploits on YouTube for all to see and admire. However, many of those same gamers woke up this morning to discover hundreds of copyright infringement claims flooding their YouTube inboxes and, naturally, they aren’t happy.
Most of the copyright infringement claims seem to be coming from a company called Independent Distribution On Line (IDOL), a company which is rather infamous for trying to shut down or capitalize on YouTube Let’s Players (LP’ers) since it attempted a similar mass-copyright blitz back in December, 2011. Some LP’ers say that hundreds of their videos have been claimed and even major outlets like Game Informer, which creates a lot of original video content involving popular games and uploads it to YouTube, hasn’t been spared the copyright wrath.
Fortunatly, it looks like these claims have a lot of bark but little bite. Several major game developers and publishers, including Deep Silver, Ubisoft, Capcom, and Blizzard, have said that any copyright claims filed on videos featuring their games have been filed in error and should be contested.
YouTubers: Pls let us know if you've had videos flagged today. These may be illegitimate flags not instigated by us. We are investigating.
— Capcom-Unity (@Capcom_Unity) December 10, 2013
If you're a YouTuber and are receiving content matches with the new changes, please be sure to contest them so we can quickly approve them.
— Diablo (@Diablo) December 11, 2013
In the meantime, we’ll have to wait and see how this whole issue shakes out. Dealing with copyright infringement issues on Let’s Play videos is always a murky channel to cross, here’s hoping a resolution that makes both parties happy can be reached. If you’re a YouTube user who likes to upload videos of their gaming time, be sure to check and make sure your videos aren’t being flagged.
