Yes, It Really Was Nintendo That Slammed GilvaSunner YouTube Channel With Copyright Strikes

from the obviously dept

Well, for a story that was already over, this became somewhat fascinating. We have followed the Nintendo vs. GilvaSunner war for several years now. The GilvaSunner YouTube channel has long been dedicated to uploading and appreciating a variety of video game music, largely from Nintendo games. Roughly once a year for the past few years, Nintendo would lob copyright strikes at a swath of GilvaSunner "videos": 100 videos in 2019, a bit less than that in 2020, take 2021 off, then suddenly slam the channel with 1,300 strikes in 2022. With that last copyright MOAB, the GilvaSunner channel has been shuttered voluntarily, with the operator indicating that it's all too much hassle.

Well, on the internet, and in our comments on that last post, there began to be speculation as to whether or not it was actually Nintendo behind all of these copyright strikes... or an imposter. Those sleuthing around found little tidbits, such as the name used on the strike not matching up to the names displayed in the past when Nintendo has acted against YouTube videos.

It was... strange. Why? Well, because it looked like many people going out and trying to find a reason to believe that Nintendo wasn't behaving exactly as anyone who had witnessed Nintendo's behavior would expect. If this was someone impersonating Nintendo with these actions, it was utterly indistinguishable from how Nintendo would normally behave. Guys, they do this shit all the time.

And this time too, as it turns out. You can hear it straight from YouTube's mouth.

This is where I will stipulate for the zillionth time that Nintendo is within it's rights to take these actions. But we should also stipulate that the company doesn't have to go this route and the fact that it prioritizes control of its IP in the strictest fashion over letting its fans enjoy some video game music should tell you everything you need to know.

In the meantime, to the internet sleuths: I appreciate your dedication to either Nintendo or to simply digging into these kinds of details for funsies or whatever. That being said, as the old saying goes, if you hear the sound of hooves, assume it's a horse and not a zebra.

Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: copyright, copyright strikes, dmca, gilvasunner, takedowns
Companies: nintendo


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • icon
    Space5000 (profile), 10 Feb 2022 @ 5:34pm

    Well, I guess it's Nintendo then likely.
    I probably said this at least once before, I wouldn't be very surprised if Nintendo tried to extend Copyright.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    Ben (profile), 11 Feb 2022 @ 2:10am

    horses & zebras

    Of course, if one is on the African savannah, assuming that hoof beats presage the presence of a horse would be somewhat odd, as zebras are significantly more common than horses.

    But in the US or Japan, yes, I suppose if you hear the sound of hooves, assume it's a horse and not a zebra.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    ThePiratedGamer, 11 Feb 2022 @ 2:13pm

    Why??? JUST WHY??

    If it was me that was nintendo i would just take ad revenue on them. They actually keep life in old games. I find it pretty scummy and kind of unethical to slam a non-profit youtuber like that. He did not do anything really. He even stated they could ask him to take it down.

    Nintendo is becoming worse and worse. Then we fans need to push the red button and say "NO" and just go straight boycott. That means

    • Buy nintendo wii or wii u consoles. Yes you can play online
    • Buy 3DS consoles. Yes with hacks you can play online
    • Hack your Switch and pirate games

    Most important to destroy the company is to not buy any games off them
    No sales = loss = bankrupcy

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • icon
    WarioBarker (profile), 13 Feb 2022 @ 1:41pm

    Given that impersonation has happened many times with copyright claims and Nintendo hadn't issued any claims against GilvaSunner in 2021, I'm not surprised the internet sleuths thought they smelled something off.

    Sadly, it seems it's the real Nintendo at fault here.

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.