Infringement notices submitted by rights holders under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act are supposed to identify infringing content so that online services can remove it, thereby protecting rightful owners.
Increasingly, however, a minority of online actors see DMCA notices as a tool to disrupt and remove content that is not infringing at all.
Just over a week ago, unknown people began sending DMCA notices to YouTube, claiming that the targeted content infringed the rights of game developer Bungie. On the grounds that the ads were legitimate, YouTube removed the videos, some of which were uploaded by prominent Destiny content creators. Other notices went to Bungie's own channels.
At least initially, confusion reigned. Bungie is a supporter of fan-created content and has a politics which specifically allows you to upload videos to YouTube. So why was the creator of Destiny harming himself and his fans? In short, he was not.
โWe are aware of a number of copyright takedowns on YouTube and are actively investigating. This includes content on our own Bungie channels. These actions are NOT taken at the request of Bungie or our partners. Stay tuned for future updates,โ said the developer. wrote On twitter.
Bungie launches an investigation
Late last week, Bungie released another statement revealing that the takedown notices were sent from a fraudulent Google account that was designed to mimic an anti-piracy partner, CSC. Google eventually terminated the account, began reversing fraudulent takedowns, and removed copyright warnings against YouTube users.
Bungie criticized Google for processing the false notices, but noted that the company has agreed to implement improvements to reduce such errors in the future. The initial chaos aside, Bungie and Google acted to clean up the mess, but now it's clear that Bungie isn't prepared to let it go.
In a relatively unusual move, the developer has filed a full-fledged lawsuit in the United States to identify the culprits and hold them accountable.
High Impact Lawsuit Suggests Bungie Isn't Happy
On Friday night, Bungie filed a lawsuit in a Washington court against John Does 1-10, the currently anonymous senders of the fraudulent DMCA notices. The 29-page complaint begins with allegations of abusive advertisements submitted under the DMCA and then lists five additional causes of action, including trademark abuse and consumer protection law violations.
The lawsuit states that the false copyright complaints not only affected Bungie's gaming community and streamers, but also caused Bungie "nearly incalculable damage." Bungie then explains that weaknesses in YouTube's systems mean that this type of abuse is easily carried out.
โThe Doe Defendants were able [send fraudulent notices] due to a security hole in YouTube's DMCA process, which allows anyone to claim to represent any rights holder in the world for the purpose of issuing a DMCA takedown.
"In other words, as far as YouTube is concerned, anyone, anywhere in the world, can issue takedown notices on behalf of any rights holder, anywhere."
Newly Created Gmail Addresses Used by Defendants
Bungie says that as long as scammers have a Google account, they can fill out a takedown form and YouTube will process the takedown request without additional checks or verifications. This loophole was exploited between March 17 and 22 when a newly created Gmail address (deliberately designed to look like an email address used by CRC) sent a wave of fake ads to YouTube.
Apparently, they didn't look like legitimate CRC notices, but that didn't get noticed on YouTube, meaning innocent YouTubers received copyright notices for no reason.
The same Gmail address was used to contact affected users with messages attempting to discredit legitimate takedown notices sent by CRC on behalf of Bungie. A newly created second Gmail account was then used to send abusive messages to Bungie's brand protection provider email address.
โThis caused significant financial and reputational damage to Bungie, for obvious reasons,โ Bungie writes, noting that โthe Destiny community was baffled and upset, believing that Bungie had reneged on its promise to allow players to build their
own streaming communities and YouTube channels about Destiny 2 content.โ
Unmasking scammers, reassuring the community
At this stage, Bungie admits that it does not know the identities of those who sent the notices, but intends to find out.
The developer says it will use a DMCA subpoena (and other means) to identify them and hold them accountable for their "wrongful and devious conduct and, frankly, to prove anyone else stupid enough to come forward as a Defendant by turning to the Bungie community for similar attack that will be faced by a legal processโ.
Bungie's complaint highlights the importance of the Destiny 2 community, highlighting the contributions made by YouTubers, including My name is Byf. and Fact. Since the game is free to play, the health of the community is vital as that is what encourages people to purchase additional content.
In short, a happy community reflects directly on Bungie's bottom line, and the community wasn't happy when they thought the creators of Destiny were being targeted by Bungie.
The plot thickens: Bungie suspects retaliation
Bungie's complaint reveals that, in early March, CSC was told to issue 41 DMCA takedowns against videos that Bungie believed violated its policy on the use of its intellectual property. For example, songs taken from the game, cut-scenes from the game, or anything else that does not contain a substantial amount of "player-created content."
In this case, all of the DMCA notices were aimed at the Destiny 2 Original Soundtracks that were subsequently removed from YouTube for copyright infringement prior to March 16, 2022. Bungie says that all of the notices used a Gmail address. in particular and on March 17, the defendants created their own Gmail. account to mimic it in order to send the fraudulent DMCA notices.
In short, Bungie believes that YouTube users who were affected by its previous DMCA takedown notices decided to teach Bungie a lesson by sending out the wave of fraudulent DMCA notices under the name Bungie, Inc. They then sent messages to users affected by telling them that the original and real Gmail address used for the deletions was a fraud.
the rope tightens
It's not especially hard for security-conscious people to hide their identities when they submit bogus DMCA notices, but the defendants in this case may have made a mistake. If Bungie is correct that the defendants are indeed the recipients of the batch of notices sent out in early March, that list isn't long and could be shortened fairly quickly.
According to the complaint, the defendants also filed a fraudulent DMCA notice against their own YouTube account, which sounds reasonable if the goal is to be seen as a victim. However, they responded to their own bogus takedown notice with a DMCA counter notice to YouTube, claiming that both legitimate and fraudulent DMCA notices were fraudulent.
Bungie criticizes Google/YouTube
Bungie's lawsuit is particularly scathing about the Google/YouTube processes, noting that the system introduced significant delays due to an opaque support process that left Bungie stranded in a "circular loop."
To get something done, Bungie engaged its Global Franchise and Global Finance directors, but by March 21, the answers had yet to come. On March 22, Google said it had suspended the scammers' accounts but would not reveal their identities.
In response, Bungie filed this lawsuit that will force Google to do so. The suit alleges that one of the defendants sent emails to YouTubers admitting his part in the scheme and blaming YouTube and Bungie for various shortcomings, including failing to adequately respond to previously sent false notices.
โFinally, I know this means nothing, but I apologize to you and everyone else who was affected by my selfish actions. You have every right to be furious with me. My goal was to get Bungie to see the fake takedowns and stop them. That's it," the email says.
causes of action
Bungie appears uninterested in the apology and is racking up a number of claims, including that the defendants sent fraudulent DMCA notices containing "knowledge and material misrepresentations," in violation of 17 USC ยง 512(f), for which it is entitled to damages. .
By referencing Bungie, Inc. in the notices, the defendants are accused of infringing on Bungie's trademarks with intent to mislead. And by removing the videos from YouTube, which contain Bungie's copyrighted content, the defendants violated Bungie's right to authorize the public display and performance of its copyrighted works under 17 USC ยง 106 ( exclusive rights to works protected by copyright).
"As such, Bungie is entitled to damages and injunctive relief, including enhanced statutory damages of $150,000 for each Fraudulent Takedown Notice that knowingly infringed Bungie's copyrights," the complaint adds, which includes allegations of commercial defamation, violations of the Washington Consumer Protection Law, and breach of contract for good measure.
You can find the complaint detailing the chaos caused by the fake ads here (pdf)
