Nintendo is famous for dishing out DMCA takedowns on companies or content creators they believe infringe on their IP. This year, several companies felt the mighty legal hammer of the Japanese developer and publisher. However, it seems a mischievous entity is capitalizing on Nintendo’s reputation to instill panic among YouTube content creators covering Nintendo games.
There is a DMCA system in place on YouTube which makes it easy for anyone to file a copyright claim. This ease of filing DMCA takedown on the platform makes it easy for bad actors to weaponize this feature against unsuspecting YouTube channels.
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Some figures posing as Nintendo representatives are getting videos covering Nintendo games removed from YouTube with false DMCA takedown notices. Earlier in September, popular German YouTuber Dominik “Domtendo” got one of the false DMCA takedowns—which felt legit at the time.
However, it was quickly noticed that the email address from which the notice came was strange. Instead of having the usual Nintendo domain, the email was from an address using the protonmail.com service.
A YouTuber winning a DMCA takedown case is rare, although they have the right to fight against it. However, going that route usually comes with the risk of losing your channel if things go awry. One interesting case was when ‘Did You Know Gaming’ won a DMCA claim against Nintendo.
How Domtendo uncovered the DMCA takedown was false
German Youtuber Domtendo receiving an award (Copyright Rex/Shutterstock)
Suspecting the legality of the DMCA takedown, Domtendo started investigating a similar claim involving other creators. A name, Tatsumi Masaaki, which The Verge couldn’t identify among Nintendo’s legal representatives, signed the message.
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It was discovered that there was a Nintendo staff with that name in Kyoto, Japan. However, the contradiction was that the message claimed to be from Nintendo of America. To further clear any doubt, Domtendo reached out to Nintendo for clarification. Surprisingly, Nintendo replied to the YouTuber’s message on October 10 with the message;
“Please note that tatsumi-masaaki@protonmail.com is not a legitimate Nintendo email address and the details contained within the communication do not align with Nintendo of America Inc.’s enforcement practices. We are investigating further.”
While false copyright strikes on YouTube have remained an issue, the platform has been silent on the matter to the frustration of creators who have received such false claims.
