Dramacow FineBros - Copyrighting React Videos Controversy, the Ongoing Shitstorm, Sadly Increasing Subs

I loved that one brother in Mad Max.

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YouTube in general is so shit I've just blocked myself in to my own little subscriber bubble by outright blocking every single element that suggests videos, even the HTML5 element that shows up at the end of videos. It's literally nothing but these fucks and PewDiePie.
I'd say I hate youtube, but, after years of abuse, I'm just stoic, like an abused whore. I just block out the pain now.
 
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The Fool said:
YouTube in general is so shit I've just blocked myself in to my own little subscriber bubble by outright blocking every single element that suggests videos, even the HTML5 element that shows up at the end of videos. It's literally nothing but these fucks and PewDiePie.
I'd say I hate youtube, but, after years of abuse, I'm just stoic, like an abused whore. I just block out the pain now.
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Google should have never bought YouTube but then again this is the reality of big business.
 
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http://ryanmorrisonlaw.com/attorneys-react-the-fine-bros-react-trademark/
Attorneys React: The Fine Bros REACT Trademark
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With the Sony LET’S PLAY trademark behind us, the internet took a sigh of relief that all was right in intellectual property land again. However, not even a week later, the pitchforks are back out. This time, The Fine Bros. (popular YouTube channel) are in hot water for registering a trademark for the word REACT under “entertainment services, namely, providing an on-going series of programs and webisodes via the Internet in the field of observing and interviewing various groups of people.”

That’s a lot of legalese for “making YouTube videos.” If you make reaction videos, which a lot of YouTubers do, you are potentially in a lot of trouble. If you don’t make reaction videos, but you care about free speech and keeping the internet safe from ludicrous trademarks, you should be concerned as well. Where this story differs from the Sony story, is that the Fine Bros actually got approved! So, some quick and important facts:
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  • We are entering a public opposition phase.
When a trademark examiner approves a trademark, like they did here, they put it forward for publication. On the date of publication, the public has 30 days to file an opposition. Had the Fine Bros kept quiet for another month, they almost certainly would have gotten this trademark, as no one seemed to notice it. Instead, they announced their ridiculous licensing program and turned all eyes on them. How they were not advised to remain silent a bit longer? No idea. But I can tell you that it was a huge mistake, and one that they will regret. Not only are they experiencing a terrible PR disaster right now, I am also assisting a large group of streamers and content creators in an opposition, pro bono (that means free), because I’m extra pissed about this one.

  • It’s as bad as it looks.
I’ve seen a lot of people arguing that this is just them protecting their brand, and that they would never go around bullying people. We’ve seen that’s blatantly false as they have issued a plethora of C&D’s (if the reddit users claiming to have received ones are to be believed, which I think they are), and have even sent their fans to brigade programs like “Ellen” for doing a similar reaction bit. I watched Kids Say the Darndest Things. These guys didn’t come up with the idea of filming funny reactions from kids. And they certainly don’t own an entire genre of YouTube videos. It wasn’t their idea, and it’s not theirs to own or police.

  • This is a TRADEMARK not a COPYRIGHT.
Those words are not interchangeable, so stop it! Trademarks are much more broad and powerful protection than copyright. They protect your brand and/or logos and slogans. They also protect against things “confusingly similar,” so it’s possible you could be sued for naming your video “Kids have emotions.”

  • They already own two trademarks.
ELDERS REACT AND TEENS REACT are two trademarks they currently have registered. I will also be assisting my clients in cancelling both of those trademarks. It’s a bit more difficult than a straight opposition, but far from impossible. I believe we will win easily.

  • They have applied for a lot more than just REACT
On top of REACT, they have also applied for, and have been approved for CELEBRITIES REACT, ADULTS REACT, PARENTS REACT. We will be opposing those as well. They also are applying for DO THEY KNOW IT?, KIDS VS. FOOD, LYRIC BREAKDOWN, PEOPLE V. TECHNOLOGY, and TRY NOT TO SMILE OR LAUGH. While those are all ridiculously generic and descriptive, in my opinion (they hate coming up with original ideas, huh?), we will not be opposing those just yet.

That wraps up where we stand now. I know it gets complicated fast, and I’m always happy to answer questions if you have them. Feel free to email me atryan@ryanmorrisonlaw.com or ping me on Twitter at @MrRyanMorrison. Also, spread the word, as the more people we have to oppose the better.
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Piga Dgrifm said:
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Damn, you beat me to it! I was going to mention that!

They also did a reaction vid of Amanda Todd's virtual suicide note. If you don't remember, Amanda Todd was the 15-year-old girl who was blackmailed by a 35-year-old man into providing him nudes and then published said nudes, causing Amanda to experience such severe bullying that she ended up committing suicide.

So basically the Fine Bros capitalized on the tragic deaths of children and a teenager and are now clamoring for even more money. What the fuck.
 
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I'd thought these creepy fucks would never get the attention they deserve, but they managed to get it. What conceivably made them think making that video was a good idea? Talk about tone deaf. If even Sony can't get away with this level of bullshit, what made them think people would "react" well to this?
 
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Strelok said:
I would encourage everyone to please, please learn the difference between trademark and copyright before talking about this though. They are completely different beasts.
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I thought I'd add this. Pasta'd from the first search result.

Copyright Protection
According to the United States Copyright Office, copyright protects original works including "literary, dramatic, musical, artistic, and certain other intellectual works." For example, a business can copyright its books, reports, audio or video materials.Work is automatically copyrighted at the time of creation; however, registration is required if a business wants to sue over the use of the material by another party. Copyright registration requires the filing of a form, paying a fee, and sending a copy of the work to the United States Copyright Office.

Trademark Protection
The United States Patent and Trademark Office indicates that a trademark protects "words, names, symbols, sounds or colors that distinguish goods and services from those manufactured or sold by others and to indicate the source of the goods." This means that a company can register a trademark for its business name, slogans, logos and other items that essentially brand the product or company. Registering a trademark first requires doing a trademark search to ensure it's not already in use. Because of the legal ramifications, most trademark experts recommend using an attorney to assist in trademark registration.

The Difference Between Copyright and Trademark
While both offer intellectual property protection, they protect different types of assets. Copyright is geared toward literary and artistic works, such as books and videos. A trademark protects items that help define a company brand, such as its logo. For example, Acme Publishing Company can trademark its name and logo, but would copyright books and videos that it created.

Source: http://smallbusiness.chron.com/differences-between-copyright-trademark-3218.html

Now let's continue laughing.
 
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So took a look through those videos @RepQuest posted and no wonder they switched over to reaction videos. The "humor" in those are repetitive, obvious and fucking stupid. The only true humor to find in them is over how terrible they are. I dare say they're even worse than said reaction videos because of their dumb attempts at jokes (The black members being treated like shit and "I call them ass*blank*" being the most common) and the plot has Cobra becoming Jewish terrorists (just why?). Oh and episode 11's got Hawk jizzing all over his troops. If that's not a poor attempt at a joke, I don't know what is.

In fact, the only humor you can get from them is over how terrible they are. And that's slim at best.
 
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