ALL AGES OF GEEK
gen:LOCK, an original Rooster Teeth animated series has had many controversies surrounding it since the initial release. To get into the details watch the video from YouTuber Calxiyn (https://www.youtube.com/user/calxiyn ) below and see for yourself. As recent news states many Rooster Teeth dedicated fans, YouTube Channels and reactors have a new issue with gen:LOCK. Copyright strikes.
Reactions have been under the “Fair-Use” category for years now and are now cited as “transformative forms of content”. The problem isn’t with the reactions themselves, it’s the lack of communication. Many YouTubers in the reaction community have spoken out against this claim and have explained the seriousness of this issue. Despite some claims being released the damage was still done.
While Rooster Teeth has constantly stated that they anticipate and encourage Reaction Channels to promote their work (due to it being a free form of advertisement), this time around no warning was given. Warner Media, a partner company to Rooster Teeth, has been striking channels who even mention gen:LOCK. A simple showing of a clip gets a takedown.
The usual case with YouTube and Reaciton Channels is either a Copyright Claim where the revenue gained from the video is given to the original source, or a Shared Claim where revenue is shared between the original source and the creator. This time around Warner Media has been handing out strikes without any form of warning or appeal.
Channels that have been in good standing have also been impacted. With no warning that reaction videos were allowed, how could creators know that strikes would happen?
Fans of gen:LOCK wanted to provide free advertisement for the series with reactions and in turn got their channels striked for termination.
A lack of communication is what jeopardized these channels. If told that reactions were not allowed the channels would have respected the company’s IP. There was no formal statement, and while Warner Media is known for copyright takedowns, creators and fans were under the impression that reactions were not just allowed, but championed as free advertisement.
Leave your thoughts down below. Is this unfair for creators? How could have this been handled differently on both company, partner and creators’ parts? But as many creators have stated “the damage is done”. Let us know your thoughts! We love hearing from you.
