Over the past month or so, Bungie and their large fanbase have been releasing tons of fun Destiny 2 content on YouTube to celebrate the release of The Witch Queen and the start of Season 16. However, many creators and even Bungie themselves have found that these videos are being taken down due to a copyright claim. This has caused Bungie to sue the individuals responsible for these fraudulent DMCA takedowns.
After a month of investigating fraudulent DMCA takedowns on Destiny 2 videos, Bungie has decided to take legal action against the currently unidentified individuals responsible for the false claims. In a lawsuit filed on March 25, Bungie has stated they are entitled to damages, including $150,000 for each fraudulent takedown. The lawsuit went on to slam YouTube for its questionable customer service and easily gamed reporting system.
These rogue DMCA takedowns started to happen right after the release of The Witch Queen, with the first notable takedown coming from YouTuber My name is Byf’s meticulously crafted fan-made film, Dynasty. The DMCA takedown of this video sparked outrage among the Destiny 2 fan base, which resulted in a statement from Bungie stating that they were not sure why the video was copyright claimed and would be working to get it reversed as soon as possible.
In the coming weeks, a multitude of Destiny 2 creators would see their videos be wrongfully copyright claimed, including some videos posted by Bungie themselves. This prompted Bungie to state that these actions were not being taken at their request or the request of their partners and that they would be providing future updates as they learned more. The next update from Bungie was the lawsuit against the individuals behind the fake google accounts claiming the videos.
It will be interesting to see where this lawsuit will lead and what it will mean not only for Destiny 2 creators and their content but also for the future of YouTube’s copyright claim system.
For more on Destiny 2, check out Destiny 2: Weekly Eververse Bright Dust Inventory – 3/29/2022 right here on Pro Game Guides.
