Nintendo claims ownership over fans' Minecraft/Mario mashups

Nintendo continues its long-running campaign of legal harassment against its biggest fans: this time, they're targeting fan-videos showing gameplay from the official, licensed Mario/Minecraft mashup pack for the Wii U.


At issue are automated matches for the Mario soundtrack, which Nintendo has uploaded to Youtube's Content ID system, configured to shut down matching videos and put a "copyright strike" against the uploader. Too many copyright strikes result in the user being banned for life from Youtube, with all their videos permanently purged from the service.

The studio that released Mario/Minecraft for the Wii U says it's looking into the matter.

To its credit, Mario Mash-Up Pack developer 4J Studios responded quickly, saying on Twitter that "we're hearing reports of copyright strikes on Super Mario Mash-Up videos. We were assured this wouldn't happen. Following up with Nintendo." In responses to other users, the developer said that "Nintendo are going to investigate and resolve" these copyright issues.


Nintendo issues copyright claims on Mario-themed Minecraft videos
[Kyle Orland/Ars Technica]