Let’s Play video creators have recently been receiving an influx of copyright law notices. This week, after being silent for too long on the issue, YouTube has finally contacted the many creators of Let’s Play videos. Unfortunately, YouTube is not helping things much.
YouTube has contacted presenters of video game Let’s Plays and Walkthroughs to explain its new crackdown on alleged copyright infringements. In the last week, many owners of successful YouTube channels, which profile and report on video games, have been hit with multiple notices from YouTube, claiming various copyright transgressions. The notices, generated by YouTube’s automatic Content ID system, have been controversial, because they sometimes make claims on behalf of games companies that have given permission for content to be used, and sometimes from companies with dubious or tenuous connections to the copyrights.