ThoughBungieworked on a wide variety of original IPs over the last couple of decades, almost all the company’s recent endeavors mostly have to do with itsDestinyfranchise, and a huge deal of importance is placed on its community, specifically. It was rather alarming, then, when the developer suddenly appeared to have began issuing copyright takedowns to some of its most prolific community members.
Bungieresolved the issue within a couple of days of it being made apparent, announcing that it had nothing to do with it, and that there was a rogue element at play. That rogue element has since come to light with the announcement that these takedowns originated from Nicholas Minor, the owner of the Lord Nazo YouTube channel, who is now being sued for his actions against otherDestinycontent creators.
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AfterBungie clarified the wave of copyright takedowns, explaining that its IP protection service, CSC Global, didn’t have anything to do with it, it didn’t take too long for the actual perpetrator to be identified. According to Bungie’s new lawsuit, Nicholas Minor acted in retaliation for a copyright takedown he was officially issued for uploading someDestinysoundtracks. After Minor’s uploads got removed, he created a series of fake email accounts that were reasonably similar to those of CSC Global’s own representatives and began sending DMCAs to other YouTubers, such as Aztecross and MyNameIsByf.
This is a continuation ofBungie’s recent filing of lawsuits against YouTube accountsthat the company suspected were behind the copyright takedown wave. Minor was now, however, identified as the originator of the event, which Bungie described as having caused “nearly incalculable damage” to its otherwise open and approachable community image. To that end, the company is now legally going after Minor, specifically, seeking $7.6 million in damages for the 96 DMCA takedowns he had issued in Bungie’s name.
Bungie usually jokes around with theDestinycommunityand many individual developers interact with its members on a weekly basis. While the lawsuit might look to be in stark contrast with Bungie’s normal behavior, it seems that the company is retaliating mainly due to Minor attempting to diminish this image of friendly disposition in any way he could.
It’s also worth pointing out that Bungie’s efforts in communicating with the community aren’t always pleasant and productive. The recentDestiny 2Twilight Garrison incidentled to members of theDestinycommunity harassing a specific developer due to some of his Twitter posts. The developer in question then closed down his Twitter account after having made a point of discussing game balancing changes on the platform for months ahead of the incident, driving a wedge between Bungie and its fans.
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