Dragon Ball and Fair Use

[Scsigs]

Here's the thing about the money they make off of Patreon. Is it any different than a creator of something starting a Kickstarter to make what they're going to make? A good example of this that I'm thinking of is Keiji Inafune, being known mainly for Mega Man, starting one for Mighty No. 9. I get if this is like comparing apples to oranges for some, but they seem to have more similarities than differences to me.

[Cure Dragon 255]

TFS uses the same material and turns it into a parody.

TFS' Abridged is not a parody. It's just a comedy using large swathes of borrowed material.

I love you and you are beautiful and amazing. I dont hate TFS but I have always believed this. Ok NOT ALWAYS but more and more as time went on.

[VegettoEX]

Here's the thing about the money they make off of Patreon. Is it any different than a creator of something starting a Kickstarter to make what they're going to make? A good example of this that I'm thinking of is Keiji Inafune, being known mainly for Mega Man, starting one for Mighty No. 9. I get if this is like comparing apples to oranges for some, but they seem to have more similarities than differences to me.

Yes. It's completely different. I don't know how you even begin to draw the parallels here!

Inafune used crowdfunding to secure money to develop a game (Mighty No. 9) that looks and plays similarly to Mega Man... but isn't actually Mega Man. It does not use Mega Man characters, it does not use Mega Man artwork, and it does not use Mega Man music. The similarities are obvious, but underneath, it's not the actual Mega Man franchise.

TeamFourStar's DBZA literally uses actual Dragon Ball footage, actual Dragon Ball music (at times), and actual Dragon Ball dialog (at times). That is has other character interpretations, uses other music, and uses other/original script writing doesn't overwrite that fact.

Them having a Patreon focused on original content but obviously backed by their largest and overwhelmingly-overshadowing DBZA is... well, certainly complicated! They'd probably be the first to acknowledge that.

[TheGreatness25]

Man, this is still going on. I just have to say this to anyone who is still thinking that DBZA is free and clear of any copyright infringement issues:

So why does Funimation even pay anyone to have the rights to a series? They could just simply take a DVD from Japan, dub over it, make some edits, call it a "parody," and presto change-o, release it in the U.S. without any repercussions. It's because that's not how it works and whether it's a big company like Funimation or it's a smaller company like TFS, the law is the law is the law and it's applicable to everyone.

Not to mention that TFS calling Abridged a "parody" is not really true. It might be a parody based on ordinary broad interpretations, but it truly isn't. A parody has the material used as a joke to ridicule that very content. Just because TFS has jokes doesn't make it a parody because it isn't ridiculing the series, but rather promoting it. Is it really a parody when they're making jokes about a series that has a ton of similar jokes in it? Scary Movie was a parody because it took Scream -- a serious "horror" movie -- and turned it into a joke. A Haunted House is a parody because it takes Paranormal Activity -- a serious "horror" movie -- and turns it into a joke. Superhero Movie was a parody because it took several superhero movies -- which took themselves seriously as if they were grand epics -- and turned them into a joke. Basically a parody criticizes the work and the tone and message is changed. So how is Dragon Ball -- a silly fighting series -- being turned into a silly fighting series a parody?

Anyway, this is all unripe because TFS isn't exactly being sued for copyright infringement, and yet it's moot because YouTube has its own standards for content removal, so we can talk about this all day and some will budge and some won't, but in the long run, it doesn't even really matter. I think that the cycle will continue: TFS puts up its stuff, it gets taken off of YouTube, everyone's upset, TFS puts their stuff back up, everyone's happy, YouTube takes it off, and on and on.

[Videlphia76ers]

It's amazing a what culture shock it is for fan-based communities when "fair use" is defined. This thread should've ended on Vegetto's first reply lol.

[DBZ Macky]

So, it happened again.
I recieved a copyright claim from Toei Animation JP on my Episode 97 power levels video stating "audiovisual content detected" and my video has been blocked worldwide.

I think it doesn't violate or step the boundaries of fair use: I merely used some screenshots from the episode and transformed it a more than fair amount. The music used was from the Budokai and BT games, but I don't think that's the problem here.

I noticed that the video that was claimed was over 20 mins long and had "Episode 97 ... Dragon Ball Super ..." in the title, and it was getting recommended from all those other videos that actually do upload the entire episodes. So I can't blame them for thinking that my video was another one of those.

BUT, the question is now: should a small channel like me file a dispute?

I'm still allowed to monetize my other videos (which are quite similar to the one which got the claim) and my channel is still running. That's honestly all I really care about. Should I just delete that particular video and move on? Or should I just delete ALL my videos that are similar to that one, to be on the safer side?

I'd really, really, really appreciate some expert advice on this. Here's my Ep96 video for reference (My episode 97 video that got claimed is literally the same format and all, though the music is different).

[TheGreatness25]

I'm no expert, especially when it comes to YouTube's policies. But that's really strange that it would flag you. If I had to guess, it is probably an automatic thing that swept you up because of the name (maybe the length as well).

Wow, that's just bad. You're not doing anything remotely as bad as others where they actually put up episodes. Maybe it's the length as a lot of places just split up the videos and they seem fine.

[LuckyCat]

Like TheGreatness25, I can't give expert advice, but it does seem like the length of the content, i.e. the amount of copyrighted images in one video is getting you in trouble. But, do keep in mind even very minimal use of copyrighted/trademarked material puts you on Toei/Funimation's radar. It's up to you how much you want to risk that blip.

[TheGreatness25]

I'm not really sure if it's for the image per se, or because the title and length of video makes it look (to an auto-sweep program) that you put up an episode of Dragon Ball Super? Sorry, I'm shooting in the dark here.

[LuckyCat]

For the sake of being informative I'll link YouTube's copyright FAQ. It covers a lot of questions, though it can't specifically address every situation. I think it's a good read and it's impressive a lot of the topics answered in this thread are in the FAQ.

[VegettoEX]

Fair use is not a right; it is a defense.

Do not counter copyright claims if you are not willing to go to court.

[DBZ Macky]

Thanks for the response everyone! It makes sense to me that it's most probably an auto-sweep program. I'll definitely refrain from making videos close to the 20 min. mark from now on.

Unfortunately, I read Mike's response just a tad bit too late and had already filed a dispute putting my faith in fair use.
I guess all I can do is hope the worst case scenario (me having to go to court) doesn't happen. I guess I'm okay with not being allowed to monetize my videos for 3 months in case my dispute results in a strike, since I kinda called it upon myself. Or hey, maaaybe they'll just not be able to respond in the 30 days or something?