Submitted 6 hours ago by Fluffy_Ruffs@lemmy.world to games@lemmy.world
https://www.androidauthority.com/once-were-nerd-youtuber-copyright-lawsuit-3577995/
Retro gaming YouTuber Once Were Nerd has been sued and raided by the Italian government.
That's insane. I know many of these handhelds come with pirated roms but taking it out on a youtube reviewer is outrageous. Why don't they just ban them from being shipped to italy?
Easier to stomp on one individual than to crack down on the businesses importing this stuff. They’re probably also collecting some kind of import duty on them too.
Didn’t Italy elect a far right neo-fascist government?
Hopefully gamers take notes.
Italy has always been a bit odd - I remember a group of scientists were convicted of manslaughter because they didn’t predict an earthquake that killed a few hundred people.
uh, wow, I hadn’t heard of this. What an absolutely wild conviction.
Initial conviction: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20025626
(spoilers) overturned on appeal: www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-29996872
Dude. That happened way back in ...2009!
Whatthefuck is wrong with people? At least it got overturned.
They did! I’m curious about the overlap between retro-gaming enthusiasts and fascists though. Do fascists really care about art and its preservation?
They’re notorious book burners, so I imagine not.
Fascists care about setting precedent and “purchased vaguely illegal content” is some great precedent.
This just also is a smart attack because the usual crowd is going to come out to insist that it is OWN’s fault for playing Nintendo games and piracy is the greatest problem facing the world and that Nintendo Switch Online™ is a great service.
Its the same as when the christofacists attacked Pornhub via Visa et al in the US. Everyone hates revenge porn and child porn (well, except for certain heads of state…) so nobody is going to complain but it made it very clear the path to destroy content that goes against the fascists’ interests.
That’s really an unnecessary escalation
An unnecessary emulation too! Of fascists.
Shipping the handheld with a SD card loaded with pirated ROMs is asking for trouble, why target the youtuber though?
Because the manufacturer and seller are in China and they want to make an example out of someone?
They made a example, and how that impact the sales of the handhelds? They’ll probably sell more now.
Yeah, it’s weird bcs as I understand that copyright law from 1941 it’s for the actual distribution, and if he never got paid by anyone in the distribution chain (tho as understand he did get some free consoles to review), then he wasn’t part of it - just filming himself saying what can be bought on the market.
Seen this going around.
Is anyone familiar with the channel itself? Because based on the article, it sounds like mostly (presumably he) is getting made an example of for reviewing hardware that comes with ROMs on an SD Card? But… a LOT of these “retro consoles” do and outlets just ignore it in favor of their totally legit collection that they don’t talk about.
Did OWN actually show what is on the SD Card and emphasize that these units came with it?
He uploaded an English dubbed explanation: youtube/zSEB4if2pJQ#.
He seems super unsavvy when it comes to legal/formal proceedings or authority in general (I don’t mean that as a bad thing, just that it can def affect how things go and escalate).
For one he got the notice in mid April & just continued to review consoles this whole time, didn’t prepare for anything (his channels, personal things, SD cards with all them ROMs, etc).
But other shit-showy things happened too - they took his phone to make a copy & didn’t return it for two months (it’s unclear if they had a warrant or if Italian law recognises what a “personal device” is - EU has yet to compile a delegated act that will unify definitions & personal rights for such modern necessities for all members).
An Italian youtuber with some legal experience explains a bit more (in Italian): youtube./zSEB4if2pJQ#.
He could say that he is doing AI research and AI training and reviews are just part of his scientific documentation.
According to the video, officials are not required to disclose what exactly the charges are or who has brought them until the initial investigation is complete under Italian law. At that point, the case is either dismissed or goes to trial. The complaint specifically mentions reproduction of copyrighted material from Nintendo and Sony, but the case may originate from the agency itself.
So for now we don’t actually know the charges or if the trial will procede, but yeah definitely not fair.
Yeah, he only showed what the police gave him (they are investigating him for promoting copyright infringement).
YouTuber Faces Possible Jail Time for Reviewing Gaming Handhelds
I’m so tired of these titles “Person arrested for perfectly legal thing”. He wasn’t arrested for reviewing gaming handhelds, he was arrested for copyright infringement.
The most pedantic comment I’ve read all week. Title is fine
Exactly. Copyright infringement? He was reviewing handheld that came with ROMs which is the copyright infringement apparently?
I agree the title is fine because the whole reason why he was arrested because he was reviewing the handheld that had the games on them. That is making an argument out of nothing
It’s not pedantic. The title explains absolutely nothing. Reviewing hardware on YouTube is not a crime in any country to my knowledge, so how could he be arrested for it?
He couldn’t have been arrested for copyright infringement; that offense was perpetrated by the entity that sold the thing to him, not himself.
That is literally the charge/what they are investigating.
Afaik the difference will come down to if he was ever paid for a review (which would be the difference between a regular consumer buying a thing legally & showing what he bought vs him being part of the promo campaigns by the manufacturer … you know, like Google is).
And if there is no newer specific law (the old one ofc doesn’t explain shit since it’s from pre-computer era), it might come down to him receiving free consoles to review, and maybe having a bunch of SD cards full of ROMs in his apartment.
He can be arrested for anything. If you want to argue that, you’ll have to take it up with the author.
Aah, the Guardia di Finanza, the one police organ italians actually respect and fear ( or so I hear ).
The charges don’t make sense though. Maybe by reviewing “pirate” material he was indirectly bypassing paying the italian state its due and thus they jumped him?
Viking_Hippie@lemmy.dbzer0.com 46 minutes ago
Draconian copyright laws, government overreach, and fascism. Name a more iconic trio.