(Updated) Nintendo claiming YouTube videos
Last night, as this story started becoming a thing, it was a very fluid situation with a lots being said. Today things have started to become a little clearer.
According to reports Nintendo has been claiming (ownership) of YouTube videos that contain their content. This seems to be affecting the Let’s Play video community the hardest. Once Nintendo claims a YouTube video, all advertising revenue is then funneled out of the LPers pocket and into Intended’s. This is what Nintendo had to say about the situation.
As part of our on-going push to ensure Nintendo content is shared across social media channels in an appropriate and safe way, we became a YouTube partner and as such in February 2013 we registered our copyright content in the YouTube database. For most fan videos this will not result in any changes, however, for those videos featuring Nintendo-owned content, such as images or audio of a certain length, adverts will now appear at the beginning, next to or at the end of the clips. We continually want our fans to enjoy sharing Nintendo content on YouTube, and that is why, unlike other entertainment companies, we have chosen not to block people using our intellectual property. For more information please visit http://www.youtube.com/yt/copyright/faq.html
According to claims the “certain length” for videos is over 10 minutes. Which, to play devil’s advocate, used to be the video limit for YouTube videos. This 10 min limit will affect many LP videos, including some that this site even supports. Even though the above statement doesn’t mention Nintendo claiming the revenue, according to statements from LPers, that is in fact the case.
I will update this post if new information comes in.
Update
Twitter follower NiNTENDOMiNATiON has tweeted that Nintendo is claiming videos under 10 minute. Which is different from the original report of Nintendo leaving those videos alone. There are also other reports that Nintendo is claiming more than just gameplay footage but videos with Nintendo music.
May 16, 2013
Are there really people who LP for a living? And it is Nintendo’s content so they could of had the content pulled from YouTube if they really wanted to. So rather than complaining I think people should be thankful that the Big N didn’t shut them down completely.
May 16, 2013
I agree. Even for those few who do actually make Youtube their main source of income, how much of that content is full LP’s? Most people post them simply as a hobby!
If anything, Nintendo is being generous imo … like you said J Money, they could easily yank it if they wanted to … it is their own content after all. Besides, not all videos will be affected anyway.
May 16, 2013
I don’t think Nintendo is just targeting LPers. There have been a couple reports of YouTubers who are not LPers with videos that are being claimed by Nintendo.
May 16, 2013
Well I’ve yet to be touched so I guess maybe I’m just in a position where it doesn’t matter. And even if I do get tampered with, I still won’t care because they will allow me to continue to upload videos of their content. I have no complaints to be honest.
May 16, 2013
Interesting … I wonder what the complete criteria is that Nintendo is using to decide?
May 17, 2013
Yes, there are those who make their living off of producing Let’s Plays and other game-related videos. I do it as a hobby, but that’s not the case for everyone. Yes, I know it’s Nintendo’s content, I’m not saying that they are wrong to do this. Obviously they can, and if you look, I acknowledged that in my first comment.
Also, I’m not complaining, I even said that it’s good that Nintendo didn’t pull videos altogether. However, it is my opinion that Nintendo should have left this alone. This is the internet after all, and I have no doubt that there are a great many videos out there that take Nintendo’s characters and content and defame them. I feel that Nintendo should be taking action against those videos and images rather than filing claims on fan-made videos that promote Nintendo’s products. There are a lot of games in my collection that I didn’t even consider buying until I saw someone LP it.
Again, this is my opinion. Nintendo has every right to do what they are doing, and I’m not angry with them for doing it. I just think it was a bad decision.