HBO removes Game of Thrones spoilers from YouTube with false copyright claims

Entertainment company HBO is removing YouTube videos containing spoilers for unaired episodes of Game of Thrones from the site through copyright claims. However, some of the videos do not contain any image or sound that is intellectual property of HBO.

It concerns the YouTube videos of Frikidoctor, also known as the Spanish YouTube Spoilers Guy. He posts what he calls “predictions” of upcoming episodes of the popular Game of Thrones series, which is currently in its sixth season. Previously, he just assumed they were spoilers, but in an effort to avoid the copyright claims, he now calls them predictions. This clearly didn’t work. To date, his predictions have turned out to be accurate, and he says on Reddit that he has an anonymous source at HBO.

HBO responds by filing a copyright claim with YouTube within hours of uploading the videos. To protect itself from accusations of complicity, YouTube often automatically takes the video in question offline when such a claim is made, regardless of whether there is actual copyright infringement or not. An uploader can then appeal against the downing of the video, but this process takes at least a few weeks.

In the case of Frikidoctor’s videos, it appears that these claims are false. He admits that some of his videos do indeed contain protected images from teasers and trailers, but at the same time he claims that some of his videos taken offline contain only images and sound of himself talking about the upcoming episode. In it he reveals the biggest twists of the story of the episodes in his own words. Similar discussions of the stories of copyrighted works can be found all over the internet, strongly suggesting that not all of Frikidoctor’s videos actually infringe HBO’s copyright. If true, that would mean HBO is abusing copyright laws like the DMCA to curb early Game of Thrones spoilers. Making a false DMCA claim is prohibited.

While HBO probably can’t prove copyright infringement when it comes to a simple review of an episode, Frikdoctor may still be making money from his videos. Indeed, some of his videos have nearly 60,000 views and most of his videos have been viewed much more than 10,000 times. If the Spaniard makes money from the publication of the spoilers, this may give HBO another leg to stand on, but that is not clear at the moment.

Many YouTube creators have been campaigning against the copyright system on the website for several months. With the cry ‘where’s the fair use?’ they try to draw attention to the fact that videos on YouTube are more often taken offline on the basis of copyright while no actual copyright infringement is taking place. In some cases, it even concerns professionally produced videos whose creators miss out on the necessary income due to the claims. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki already announced that the YouTube team listens to the feedback. In fact, YouTube has already set up a special team to investigate false copyright claims.