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.

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