Minecraft clips featuring Mario Mash-Up DLC pulled due to copyright claims

YouTube's copyright system is flagging Minecraft: Wii U Edition content, leading to a swell of complaints from users.

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The gaming corner of the Internet is in the midst of a domino effect of DMCA takedowns. Days after FOX used a clip of NES classic Double Dribble in a recent episode of Family Guy and got the clip taken down from YouTube, Nintendo has filed copyright claims on clips featuring Mario Mash-Up, an exclusive content pack developed by 4J Studios for Minecraft: Wii U Edition.

Ars Technica broke the story, and the problem lies with YouTube's automated content ID program, the same culprit responsible for the FOX/Double Dribble kerfuffle. Mario Mash-Up includes music from Super Mario 64. Including the music was within bounds, but the music itself flags a copyright match and requests that the offending video be pulled.

In other words, Nintendo didn't pull the videos; YouTube's robots do so automatically based on policies outlined by Nintendo.

Several users complained about having their videos pulled on Twitter, leading Mario Mash-Up developer 4J Studios torespond. "We're hearing reports of copyright strikes on Super Mario Mash-Up videos. We were assured this wouldn't happen. Following up with Nintendo."

For what it's worth, 4J responded a short time later, saying "Nintendo are going to investigate and resolve."

Fans aren't the only one complaining. Per the terms of Nintendo's Partner Program, content creators on YouTube can only share videos featuring Nintendo properties if they agree to give the Big N a cut of the revenue. Naturally, many YouTubers have opted not to make videos about Nintendo's games.

Renowned YouTube celebrities likePewDiePie have complained about the policy, arguing that prohibiting creators from showing off Nintendo's games only hurts Nintendo by cutting off an avenue of free publicity.

"This is why a tiny one man indie game like Minecraft could grow into a 2.5 billion dollar deal," he wrote. "That’s 2.5 billion… Made possible, largely because of the exposure it got from YouTube!"

Long Reads Editor

David L. Craddock writes fiction, nonfiction, and grocery lists. He is the author of the Stay Awhile and Listen series, and the Gairden Chronicles series of fantasy novels for young adults. Outside of writing, he enjoys playing Mario, Zelda, and Dark Souls games, and will be happy to discuss at length the myriad reasons why Dark Souls 2 is the best in the series. Follow him online at davidlcraddock.com and @davidlcraddock.

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