Bungie's own Destiny 2 videos were also hit by this string of copyright claims.
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This past week, a number of Destiny content creators were struck by copyright claims and takedown requests across various uploads to their YouTube channels. A number of high-profile creators, such as MyNameIsByf, were hit just as hard as smaller creators. In fact, some of Bungie's own Destiny videos were also struck by copyright claims.

What the heck happened?

According to the March 24 release of "This Week at Bungie," the takedown notices and copyright claims were done fraudulently. Apparently, some group or individual made fraudulent accounts that impersonated Bungie's IP protection service.

Google has confirmed that the accounts that have submitted fraudulent legal requests to YouTube have been terminated and will no longer have access to Google products. All fraudulent submissions from these accounts will be reversed (some have already, the rest should come through shortly). The processing of these takedowns was an enforcement mistake by Google, and beyond rescinding the strikes and reinstating the videos, they are also working on process improvements to reduce the likelihood of any similar mistakes in the future. Please be patient as we work with YouTube to correct the fraudulent DMCA notices. In the meantime, we ask that you please refrain from harassing any member of the community or any employee of CSC.

We wanted to clear up a few misconceptions caused by this fraud:
  • CSC, a Bungie partner that aids in IP protection, did not go rogue or issue any unauthorized takedowns.
    • Bungie does not use or authorize algorithmic takedowns on YouTube. All actions by CSC are reviewed and authorized by Bungie.
      • Because these are human processes, in rare occurrences human error has occurred, in which we have quickly worked to correct any issues.
  • Bungie investigated the claims of suspicious takedowns and found that several strikes were perpetrated by a “bad actor” that is not affiliated with Bungie or CSC, but who has impersonated CSC by falsifying look-alike email aliases. This attack occurred after, and possibly in response to, a recent set of authentic takedowns of OST uploads.
Bungie notes there have been some legitimate takedowns recently, mainly against those that were uploading Destiny music. However, the studio does also realize that there is a desire by the community to access the music which isn't available through other means, sometimes not even in the game itself due to it being a part of old and removed content. To that end, Bungie says they will try to make that music available through more official means.

Bungie also says that they will be updating their community guidelines messaging to be clearer to fans.

Going forward we will be allowing certain Destiny music tracks to be uploaded to channels for archival purposes. For those creators interested in this type of content creation, the guidelines below should be reviewed:
  • It can't be an OST song that Bungie has already released or posted elsewhere publicly.
  • The content cannot be monetized.
  • The creator needs to obtain permission from Bungie by contacting this email: licensing@bungie.com.
At the end of the day, our content creator community is invaluable to us – and no, not just the “big” creators. We understand that many creators have their content as a source of primary income, and we do not wish to cause harm to those that express their passion through art. However, as with any company, there are boundaries in place to protect both the community and the property that the Destiny 2 teams have poured their souls into through the years. Because this is important to the future of the game and the future of our community, we have been working to update our community guidelines messaging, found in its original iteration here, to make our boundaries as a business clearer so that you, the creators, can make the content your souls crave without fear. We will share the updated resource with you all when those changes are finalized.