Games Wokshop issued a false copyright strike against Warhammer 40k critic Jon Del Arroz and his YouTube channel for a video where he reported on woke activists trying to cancel Space Marine 2.
A screenshot from Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (2024), Focus Entertainment
Del Arroz, who is creating an alternative Warhammer 40k universe with his Overmind and The Hidden Emperor graphic novels, shared a screenshot of the false copyright claim to X where he wrote, “Games Workshop copyright struck my video, which only showed reactions on X of people trying to cancel the Space Marine 2 video game because a Russian programmer worked on it. I also showed their Twitter post reacting to a leaked version of the game—I had NO video gameplay or anything in it.”
He added, “They’re trying to remove critics. Spread the word.”
Games Workshop copyright struck my video, which only showed reactions on X of people trying to cancel the Space Marine 2 video game because a Russian programmer worked on it. I also showed their Twitter post reacting to a leaked version of the game—I had NO video gameplay or… pic.twitter.com/LlGmXW1Vug
— Jon Del Arroz (@jondelarroz) August 16, 2024
READ: Activists Attempt To Cancel ‘Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2’ For Employing Russian Developer
As can be seen in the accompanying image, Del Arroz received a message from YouTube reading, “We received a copyright removal request for your video. Based on applicable copyright law, we removed your video from YouTube.
It then lists the title of the video, “Woke Warhammer 40K Fans CANCELING Space Marine 2 After FULL Video Game LEAKS” and reveals that it was Games Workshop Limited who requested the entire video be taken down.
Furthermore, it reveals that Del Arroz was issued a copyright strike: “You now have 1 copyright strike. If you get multiple copyright strikes, we’ll have to terminate your channel. To prevent that from happening, please don’t upload videos containing copyrighted content that you aren’t allowed to use.”
While the message indicated the video has been removed, one can still watch the video (https://youtu.be/wyx3qkL6BVI) and see that Del Arroz goes over his own coverage at Fandom Pulse of these numerous woke activists attempting to cancel the game due to a Russian developer having worked on it.
A screenshot from Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (2024), Focus Entertainment
The timing of the strike is interesting as it’s almost 2 months after the video was originally uploaded. Interestingly, Amazon began falsely copyright claiming Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power reaction videos that were critical of the show’s trailers and videos.
Gary Buechler, who owns the Nerdrotic YouTube channel, posted on X, “Amazon Prime Video has started falsely copyright claiming transformative trailer reactions. How very Warner Brothers of you. This is something they didn’t do last time around with Rings of Power.”
Amazon @PrimeVideo has started falsely copyright claiming transformative trailer reactions. How very Warner Brothers of you.
This is something they didn’t do last time around with Rings of Power#TheRingsOfPower— Nerdrotic (@Nerdrotics) August 14, 2024
Jonathan Watson, the owner of The One Ring YouTube channel confirmed this was the case writing on X, “Gotta start cracking down on those videos you don’t like, huh Amazon? This is 18 DAYS after it was first published…”
Gotta start cracking down on those videos you don’t like, huh Amazon? This is 18 DAYS after it was first published… pic.twitter.com/y8uBaqi3Vi
— Jonathan | ExploringTolkien.com (@torc) August 14, 2024
However, following our coverage of Amazon’s actions taken against Watson’s YouTube channel, Amazon sent him an email claiming they made a mistake and implied he had been caught up in an automated net.
The email from Amazon MGM Studios and Prime Video’s Senior Corporate Counsel of Global Content Protection Peter Kidd states, “We learned this morning we inadvertently claimed one of your video commentaries yesterday. In clearing the backlog of automated potential claims flagged by YouTube’s fingerprinting system, we failed to release the claim on your video as allowed commentary/criticism. While we can confirm your video was never taken down or suppressed, we apologize for the disruption.”
It added, “We’ll put you on the Allowlist to prevent automated claiming on your channel going forward. But should something like this happen again, please feel free to reach out to me.”
Email sent to Jonathan Watson provided to That Park Place
Given Amazon quickly removed the copyright claim from Watson’s YouTube channel, one can hope that Games Workshop will follow their suit especially given the two are now working with each other to develop a Warhammer 40K film or TV show.
A screenshot from Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2 (2024), Focus Entertainment
What do you make of Games Workshop copyright striking Jon Del Arroz’s channel?
