YouTubers Targeted by Nintendo DMCA Attorney Takedown Fakes

Summary

YouTube channels covering Nintendo games like Domtendo are facing fake DMCA takedowns.
Fake takedown requests masquerading as Nintendo representatives are being issued, with Nintendo confirming that the emails targeting YouTubers are fake and that they are investigating the issue.

YouTubers who cover Nintendo games and featuring gameplay from its titles are subject to DMCA false takedowns. YouTube has a DMCA system in place where it can make it very easy for someone to file a fake copyright takedown request, something that has been abused by others in the past and can be used against unsuspecting YouTube channels. Nintendo has a history of being very protective of its IP on the internet as well, and YouTube is no exception.

Gaming YouTube channels cover all sorts of aspects of the gaming industry, but Nintendo has the most difficult track record when it comes to allowing YouTubers to post Nintendo-related content. Nintendo has been strict in removing game content in the past, with the developer of Garry's way being forced to remove 20 years of Nintendo content as a result of a DMCA notice from the gaming giant. However, now it seems that the figures posing as a taller Nintendo are removed videos.

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Late this September, YouTuber Dominik “Domtendo” Neumayer received a takedown notice from what appeared to come directly from Nintendo. However, something was odd about the email address the notification came from. Instead of the usual Nintendo domain, the email was followed by an address that used the protonmail.com encrypted service. YouTubers have the ability to fight a DMCA takedown notice, but at their own channel's risk. However, there have been rare cases where YouTube channels such as Did You Know Gaming have won a DMCA case against Nintendo.

Fake DMCA takedowns continue to be a problem for YouTube

Domtendo further investigated the email and looked into similar claims involving other creators. The email was signed by one Tatsumi Masaaki, and according to The Verge, there is no such legal representative at Nintendo. A real person by that name exists at Nintendo, but in Kyoto, Japan, and not Nintendo of America, as the email claimed. Nintendo's long history of taking heavy-handed lawsuits, like how one fan did Pokémon FPS was wiped from the internet after being hit with a takedown notice, which makes it understandable why one would think the fake DMCA takedown was legitimate.

Domtendo reached out to Nintendo themselves to see if the email address was legitimate and, surprisingly, got a response. According to The Verge, Nintendo responded in an email on October 10: “Please note that tatsumi-masaaki@protonmail.com is not a legitimate Nintendo email address and the details contained in the communication do not align with of Nintendo of America Inc. enforcement practices. We continue to invest.” After I cleared up the takedown notices, other emails were sent from a spoofed Nintendo email address, again attacking Domtendo's videos. To Domtendo's frustration, DMCA takedown requests on YouTube continue to be used as a weapon to issue bogus claims. YouTube has been very quiet about these events, and false copyright warnings on YouTube continue to be a problem.

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