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.

 

[Nikosandros]

Miscommunication between the marketing and legal people, feels like.

Yes, I agree 100% with this.

 

[Parmandur]

Do you agree that is quite common to make flip through of RPGs products in reviews? Normally WotC itself has nothing against if for their products.

It happens, but they have traditio ally had a problem with it: this is not the first time this exact cycle has happened. WotC should have communicated more clearly what they wanted, it seems someone relied too heavily on common sense understandings that were not present.

 

[Iosue]

Let’s see if we can’t clear up some of the players here.

DnD Shorts did an hour and a half video that showed every page of the PHB, in order. His video was the first removed, and very likely the inciting incident.

Jorphdan is who Mistwell is thinking of. Did a 3 hour live stream flipping through the book, showing a lot, but not to the degree of DnD Shorts. Removed the video of the stream at WotC’s request, and then got copyright struck by YouTube.

Sly Flourish did an hour long flip through that was fairly typical of an in depth review. Showed some pages, but not as much the other two mentioned here. Received a request/demand from WotC to blur all page shots. Was not copyright struck, but is naturally wary after seeing it happen to Jorphdan.

 

[Corinnguard]

However, it was not "most of the pages". They don't want any of the pages shown.

Given what we have heard and seen so far from these reviews of the 2024 PHB, there was a lot of stuff that wasn't fixed from 5e and there was some new stuff that hadn't been received well during the playtests. If WoTC had not decided to have any of the pages revealed, imagine the amount of the Buyer's Remorse that could have ensued. The Content Creators reviews did us all a huge favor by revealing what they did.

 

[TiQuinn]

Show me one independent author of a book who wanted EVERY SINGLE PAGE OF THEIR BOOK DISPLAYED ON YOUTUBE IN ORDER before the book is even available to the wider public.

I cannot believe the disingenuous approach to this topic from some. Almost all videos made by people who had early access were not warned or taken down. Like 99% of them. How are you guys not mentioning the enormous elephant in the room - that this was only the guys who literally scanned the overwhelming majority of the book in a page by page video who got the notice, and only for those particular videos doing that?

If we're going to talk about disingenuous approaches, what I can't believe is that people continuously associate one particular channel's bad behavior with reputable ones, and think it's fair to tar them all with the same brush.

 

[TiQuinn]

If I read a brand new novel on camera beginning to end and then monetize ads for my reading of it, I'm giving you all the information in the book but not in a print form and still making money off it. Still is copyright infringement.

That said, what Shorts did and what other YouTubers like Sly did are different and I think WotC overreacted as it is want to do. I hope they will be able to remove the strikes from the legitimate reading and reviews vs the "put the whole book on camera" videos.

You can take DnDShorts' entire channel and throw it and him in the garbage, but this is not the same thing as Jorphdan and SlyFlourish's videos.

 

[Blue]

This. I'm seeing a lot of moaning here because WotC is shutting down videos by people who explicity did what WotC told them not to do when they received their early review copies. They were given something for free on conditions and then defied those conditions. Why are people siding with them, other than knee-jerk "WotC bad"?

Please, what is the source of "explicity did what WotC told them not to do". Because everything I am seeing is that WotC never told them not to do that.

 

[Retreater]

Just want to pop in here and say thanks to creators like @SlyFlourish for their content. This must be a stressful time, and I appreciate your work.
Mike has been a positive voice in this hobby.
So go watch some videos, Like, Subscribe, join Patreons, etc., to help support our content creators.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

You can take DnDShorts' entire channel and throw it and him in the garbage, but this is not the same thing as Jorphdan and SlyFlourish's videos.

I just want to add, I watched about 10 minutes of the DnDShorts video and if it was all like that then it was not fair use but I did watch SlyFlourish's video and I reckon falls within fair use, however, I am not a lawyer.

 

[Corinnguard]

I just want to add, I watched about 10 minutes of the DnDShorts video and if it was all like that then it was not fair use but I did watch SlyFlourish's video and I reckon falls within fair use, however, I am not a lawyer.

Were you watching his 14-minute spoiler review or the hour and a half page-by-page review?

I wonder how many of us on EN World are lawyers in RL.