First things first, well done Ubisoft for creating such a ridiculously fantastic game, Blood Dragon is one of the most unexpectedly brilliant purchases I've made in a long time, and I commend the developers for having the confidence to create it...
However... Unfortunately my enjoyment of the game has been somewhat marred by a bit of a misunderstanding. I run an little amateur YouTube channel, emphasis on "little"; I only have around 430 subscribers, I don't do it as a living, it's just a hobby, something I do for fun. I recently tried to upload some content about Blood Dragon, a playthrough series in fact (aka: a "Let's Play"), but I was dismayed to find that my video was slapped with a matched copyrighted content claim from Ubisoft. This has caused me all kinds of problems, and in fact I sum up the issues in a video below (the video was made just to inform my subscribers as to what the situation was, but I'll go into more detail in writing too):
That's a summary of the situation, but I'll explain it in writing:
Upon investigating as to why my video received a matched content claim, it seems that the "matched content" that I am supposedly infringing on has nothing to do with the video itself, but a small portion of the in-game music that occurs during the cutscene:
What you can see in that image is that I have indeed disputed the claim, on the grounds that my video doesn't constitute copyright infringement. Now, this is a tricky issue, I am of course aware that, technically speaking, any and all assets within a game are owned entirely by the game developers. However, without wanting to get into the complexities of what use of content falls under "fair use policy" and all that technical mumbo jumbo... It seems pretty safe to say that the uploading of gameplay footage is generally not considered to be copyright infringement: Gaming news networks regularly upload gameplay footage for review purposes. "Professional" YouTube content creators in fact earn a living from uploading gameplay footage! Think of The Yogscast, of TotalBiscuit, or Jesse Cox (of OMFGCata fame).
Actually, here's two videos consisting entirely of Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon gameplay footage, uploaded by "famous" YouTube users, who make a living by monetizing such content.
At 4:50 into this one, you see the exact clip (including audio and all) that received the "matched content" claim in my video. Why is it that this YouTuber is granted immunity? I assume it's because he is part of a network...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo8jfr85vL0
Likewise, here is another larger YouTube user who is perfectly able to upload Blood Dragon gameplay content with no issues whatsoever:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=13-xD2arz0I
And now here's a link to my video, the video that started this whole mess:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ub6aHxJBlzU
The real problem however is that this isn't just a nuisance for me: Because of this rather unjustified claim against my video, my channel has received what's known on YouTube as a "strike". In essence, my channel has been punished, and I am no longer able to upload videos longer than 15 minutes. Considering that I generally like to upload somewhat in-depth analysis of games, this is utterly detrimental to my channel. I essentially cannot pursue the hobby that I so love doing.
I don't want to sound too whiny or aggressive in making this post; I'm assuming it's all just a misunderstanding, it's probably YouTube's content matching system at fault here rather than Ubisoft "picking on the little guy". But I'm just not sure what else to do, so I thought I'd make this post in the hopes that maybe a Ubisoft representative or employee might notice this issue... It's a naive thought, but I've gotta do everything I can.
I'm sure Ubisoft don't actually want to prevent enthusiastic gamers from making content about their game. In fact, this whole situation is pretty ironic in that I am now unable to upload a really rather positive review of Blood Dragon! Sorry for taking up people's time with such a long post, but as I said, I'm not sure what else I can do.
I have had the exact same problem... they claimed copyright on both music and video content in my lets play/playthrough video. I am currently awaiting an answer on my dispute, and I hope this is resolved swiftly.
I have no idea why this has happened, and I was equally perplexed that 'big' youtubers seem to have been able to upload the exact same cutscenes/video and audio in their own videos, and yet they don't seem to have been countered in any way!
Let me know if you make any progress on this matter.
Cheers.
Well, I've received a response to my customer support ticket that would seem to confirm that Ubisoft have no intention of accusing content such as this of copyright infringement. So although it's a little reassuring to know that it's probably just YouTube's automated content indentification system being mistakenly harsh (and I certainly appreciate the quick response), it doesn't really help my situation, or those who are suffering the same problem.
Here's a screengrab of the response I got; it quite clearly implies that the simple recording of gameplay footage falls under the "self-captured and self-edited" category.
Someone at Ubisoft might want to inform YouTube that they should perhaps consider altering their content ID system to have somewhat looser parameters in declaring "matched content".
I don't even monetize my videos, YouTubing is just a hobby of mine that I enjoy doing. The problem is that, in spite of Ubisoft essentially stating in that email that they don't intend to punish those who upload content in this format, YouTube has punished them regardless. I now can't upload a video longer than 15 minutes, and the reputation of my channel has been harmed by this whole charade. If I were to upload another Blood Dragon video (which I'd very much like to), only to get slapped by another unwarranted "matched content" claim, that could jeapordise the existence of my channel, it could even be deleted entirely. All because Ubisoft haven't mentioned to YouTube that their automated content identification systems are in fact making mistakes, and punishing content creators who don't deserve it.Originally Posted by hydrallus Go to original post
It's not an issue of money, if YouTube was my career then this would be an even more serious matter, it's just an issue of fair treatment.