Dominik “Domtendo” Neumayer, a German YouTuber, narrowly avoided having his entire channel removed from YouTube after successfully defeating a fake Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) takedown request.
In 2023, Nintendo sent Neumayer two DMCA complaints under the guise of copyright infringement, which triggered two strikes against him. With three strikes being the limit to stay on the platform, Neumayer was faced with the prospect of losing his entire channel. However, he didn’t take the threat lying down.
Neumayer’s bravery paid off when he thoroughly investigated the takedown requests and discovered that one of them was sent from a personal email account using an encrypted service. The “legitimate” request was signed by “Tatsumi Masaaki,” but the second claim had a suspiciously different signature.
The YouTuber’s diligence led to Nintendo reevaluating its actions, ultimately dropping the charges against him. This case highlights the challenges of combating copyright abuse on YouTube and the importance of scrutinizing DMCA requests before making rash decisions.
While 6% of removals from July to December 2023 were confirmed as abusive, many users may be hesitant to flag these incidents due to fear of potential lawsuits. Neumayer’s victory demonstrates that it is possible to fight back against fake takedowns and protect one’s online content.
Source: https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/12/youtuber-won-dmca-fight-with-fake-nintendo-lawyer-by-detecting-spoofed-email