“PokéNational is dead” — Nintendo copyright strikes 20 videos from Pokémon nature documentary-style YouTuber; entire channel scheduled for termination

Elious, the creator behind the PokéNational series, has recently uploaded a video explaining to fans that the PokéNational channel is scheduled to be terminated by YouTube seven days after April 25th. Nintendo of America (NOA) has issued at least 20 copyright strikes against videos on the channel, triggering YouTube’s policy of terminating a channel after three unresolved copyright strikes. While some avenues of recourse are available for the creator, they have expressed the severity of the situation: “Yeah, I’m one guy. This is Nintendo of America.”

The animator recently celebrated the three year anniversary of the PokéNational series, which presents Pokémon in faux nature documentaries, complete with “footage” of the Pokémon in its natural habitat and informative narration. Elious reports that there are currently 25 episodes of PokéNational, along with 11 episodes of the Spanish-language version PokéNacional, and 3 of the Chinese-language 寶可夢紀錄片 (Pokémon Documentary), all of which are hosted on the channel scheduled for deletion.

YouTube states that the PokéNational series violates applicable copyright law by using “Pokémon video games, including the audio-visual works, characters, and imagery.” Elious reports their only usage of Pokémon assets are audio clips of Pokémon cries, but believes these should fall under fair use, a US legal doctrine which allows the use of copyrighted materials under certain conditions. The copyright strikes from Nintendo of America are against entire videos, despite their ability to specify timestamps, and despite the fact that sections of videos do not contain Pokémon at all.

Nintendo of America’s decision to copyright strike PokéNational at this time seems unprompted. PokéNational has previously received attention from major outlets like IGN, Polygon, and Kotaku, bringing the channel to global consciousness without ire from NOA. Elious reports that the strikes seem automated, coming overnight in batches of 5 or more, and even striking a video that is not part of the PokéNational series. YouTube’s content detection tool, called Content ID, does automatically identify material which may violate YouTube’s copyright policies and can apply content blocks, but does not automatically initiate copyright strikes.

Elious conveyed a sense of powerlessness against so large a corporate entity as Nintendo of America. The PokéNational channel has almost 100,000 subscribers on YouTube, and Elious reports that the examples of their animation furthered their professional endeavors, as well as finding fulfillment in educational entertainment content.

Elious, creator of PokéNational, said:
PokéNational has done a lot for me, I've gotten internships, I've gotten jobs because of PokéNational because I've showed people my animation skills through that... I remember getting comments from teachers and parents being like 'Oh, I like showing this to kids,' and that type of stuff. Which is why I focused on making the series more educational, why I switched it to have other languages so you could use it for those types of things.

Nintendo of America, as opposed to other entities which may have a claim on the Pokémon IP, such as The Pokémon Company International (TPCi), has a reputation for being overly and even unjustly litigious among fans. It is Nintendo of America that issued a DMCA subpoena against perpetrators of the “teraleak,” and it is Nintendo of America that contacted a TCG shop in NYC after they were violently robbed to have Pokémon IP removed from the store’s branding. However, NOA chose not to respond in a legal capacity to recent use of their branding by the White House X (formerly Twitter) account, leaving TPCi to simply release a statement dissociating themselves from the usage.

Elious expressed frustration that channels producing similar content using generative AI do not seem to have been copyright struck, after having previously voiced their distaste for TikTok’s automatic usage of their content for AI. There was also concern that creators making similar “real-life” Pokémon content, such as The Pokémon Conservationist, may be the next target for strikes like PokéNational’s. Elious encourages their fans to follow them on their other YouTube account, EliousEntertainmentYT, for non-Pokémon related animation.

 

I hope to Rayquaza Above someone archived everything and is circulating the tapes.

 

This should fall under fair use, really
Also it is quite illogical. The channel is making a free advertising for the franchise by the fact of its sheer existence. If they want.to control.that content they should just hire the guy lol

 

Stuff like this makes me anxious for what it would mean for anyone making any sort of fan-content on Pokémon. It can't be good for their PR either to be so uptight and strict about it. And the inconsistent approach makes it difficult to discern what exactly crosses the line in their perception.

I know I'd be devastated if I was forced to give up projects I've poured my adoration and passion into. It scares me a little, like, never getting to finish what I set out to create because someone legally forces my hand to cease.

 

This is too much, Nintendo! That guy had opportunities, and you just turned all of them down. These people are only showcasing the love of your characters by these videos and you are just calling your own fans the "copycats"! This is fair use, really.

 

Good grief. I guess Nintendo's going to Nintendo as usual. In this case, not for the better. Why are they so scared of fan-made non-profit content? If they were making money off of it, I'd understand. But fans just expressing love for the series for fun? No fun allowed, I guess.

Also, couldn't resist throwing this meme in.

 

Fuck you Nintendo.