Nintendo Claims Ownership On YouTube Videos

Nintendo is laying claim to YouTube videos.

In a new effort to cash in wherever they can, Nintendo is claiming the copyrights on all YouTube videos containing their intellectual property. This means that all of those “Let’s Play” videos featuring their games will redirect the revenue to Nintendo instead of the channel owners.

YouTube channel owner Zack Scott says that Nintendo has already laid claim to several of his “Let’s Play” videos, but, instead of blocking them like most copyright owners do, Nintendo is collecting the revenue for themselves. Zack Scott is outraged by this move, as he believes that gamers watch his videos to see how he plays the games and to hear the commentary, not because it’s Nintendo property. He is a long-time Nintendo fan, but he says that, if Nintendo doesn’t set things right soon, he is planning to stop making videos featuring their games if he’s not earning the revenue from it.

No doubt other YouTube channel owners feel the same way, that Nintendo is jeopardizing their status as YouTube partners by copyright claiming their videos. And how far will they push this new claim policy? Will Smosh and others with live action parodies on their games eventually have those claimed as well?

Apparently Nintendo is just that hard up for money, and they have created a YouTube channel and become a partner just so they can claim copyrights on all videos using their content.

Nintendo has made the following statement concerning this new move:

“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.”

So basically, they’re saying, “We’re here for our money, be thankful we didn’t just block you.” Alongside the report by The Inquisitr that Nintendo banned gay marriage in their games, this isn’t looking so good for Nintendo’s public image.

What do you think of Nintendo’s move to claim ownership on YouTube videos?