D&D (2024) D&D Player's Handbook Video Redactions & Takedowns

There's a lot of YouTube videos looking at the brand new Player's Handbook right now, and some of them include the YouTuber in question flipping through the new book on screen. A couple of those video creators have been asked by WotC to redact some of the content of their videos, with one finding that their video had been taken down entirely due to copyright claims from the company. It appears to be the folks who are flipping through the whole book on-screen who are running into this issue which, it seems, is based on piracy concerns.

Jorphdan posted on Twitter that "Despite fulfilling [WotC's] requests for the flip through video I was issues a copyright strike on my channel. Three strikes TERMINATES your channel. I don't think going over the 2024 PHB is worth losing my channel I've been working on since 2017. I'm pretty upset as none of this was said up front and when notified I did comply with their requirements. And I see other creators still have their videos up. Videos that are not unlike mine. Covering WotC is not worth losing my channel... Meanwhile please subscribe to my D&D free channel the Jocular Junction, where I'll most likely be making the majority of my TTRPG videos."

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Mike Shea, aka Sly Flourish, also posted a walkthrough of the Player's Handbook. While he didn't receive a copyright takedown action, after an email from WotC he has blurred out all the page images. "Note, I blurred out pictures of the book after Hasbro sent me an email saying they worried people would take screenshots of the book and build their own. Yes, it's complete b******t, but we must all do our part to ensure four billion dollar companies maximize shareholder value."

Popular YouTuber DnD Shorts had a video entitled 100% Walkthrough of the New Player's Handbook in D&D. That video is no longer available. However, his full spoilers review is still online.

 

[SlyFlourish]

That list sounds like what you did in the first place and they could have just left you alone. Too bad they were in panic-mode. A shame.

Yep. In the end, nothing changed except I had two bad blurred videos which you can't undo so I had to re-render and repost them but with no changes to the videos at all...

They could have saved me and themselves a lot of work, anxiety, and bad vibes by doing nothing at all.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I think the legal team overreacted to D&D shorts and hit everyone else by proxy. It sucks you and others had to go through that.

Glad things look to be getting cleared up.

 

[Arilyn]

Competently run companies do not panic. A good company makes sincere apologies for being in error(which WotC did) and then go above and beyond to make up for the mistake (which WotC did not.) Most customers/clients are forgiving of errors if a company does at least a little more than an apology.

 

[Minigiant]

Competently run companies do not panic. A good company makes sincere apologies for being in error(which WotC did) and then go above and beyond to make up for the mistake (which WotC did not.) Most customers/clients are forgiving of errors if a company does at least a little more than an apology.

People panic.

The only way to prevent a panicked people from doing their job in a panic is to remove the authority to do their job alone..

And once you do that you have now kept them from being able to react to anything quickly at all.

I've worked at those kind of places and you get totally opposite but just as bad problems.

 

[Arilyn]

People panic.

The only way to prevent a panicked people from doing their job in a panic is to remove the authority to do their job alone..

And once you do that you have now kept them from being able to react to anything quickly at all.

I've worked at those kind of places and you get totally opposite but just as bad problems.

If panic occurs, mistakes are made. Yes, it happens. And like I said, a company should make a genuine apology and go at least a little bit above and beyond to rectify their error and regain customer trust. Staying calm in a crisis is part of being in the business world, right there in 1st year classes.

 

[tetrasodium]

If panic occurs, mistakes are made. Yes, it happens. And like I said, a company should make a genuine apology and go at least a little bit above and beyond to rectify their error and regain customer trust. Staying calm in a crisis is part of being in the business world, right there in 1st year classes.

Did you forget the company in question?... "They won and so did we"

 

[mamba]

Did you forget the company in question?... "They won and so did we"

sounds like a company that had the opportunity to learn this a few times over the last few years

 

[Minigiant]

If panic occurs, mistakes are made. Yes, it happens. And like I said, a company should make a genuine apology and go at least a little bit above and beyond to rectify their error and regain customer trust. Staying calm in a crisis is part of being in the business world, right there in 1st year classes.

There is a difference between a small company and a large corporation.

Many things can be done easier in one than the other. And those procedures have different effects based on size.

There is a reason why WOTC constantly has scandals. And the same kinds of scandals. It's a creative business. A business where employees need to have freedom to work.

The drawback of freedom is you have employees with the freedom to call in their personal Pinkerton connections without contacting your legal department or send out YT strikes without contacting marketing.

 

[Nikosandros]

There is a difference between a small company and a large corporation.

Many things can be done easier in one than the other. And those procedures have different effects based on size.

There is a reason why WOTC constantly has scandals. And the same kinds of scandals. It's a creative business. A business where employees need to have freedom to work.

The drawback of freedom is you have employees with the freedom to call in their personal Pinkerton connections without contacting your legal department or send out YT strikes without contacting marketing.

I'm not sure how the creative freedom of designers should affect the behavior of the legal department or, even more, how could some employee, just on whim, decide to call the Pinkertons.

 

[Minigiant]

I'm not sure how the creative freedom of designers should affect the behavior of the legal department or, even more, how could some employee, just on whim, decide to call the Pinkertons.

I've worked that many places with a various departments do not talk to each other before acting until disaster strikes.

Not uncommon.