Let this be a lesson to content creators who fly too close to the sun: a YouTuber from South Korea, who is not named in this story from Korea JoongAng Daily, has been fined 7 million won (or about $5,000) for copyright infringement. The offense? Uploading "segments" of Game of Thrones to their channel.
The YouTuber in question is 42 years old and has 1.7 million subscribers, which is a very healthy amount. They upload "reviews of drama series and movies," which raises a question: are the offending Game of Thrones clips a part of longer review videos, or was this person just uploading scenes from the show without permission? I'd like to know, for no particular reason. On an unrelated note, check out the WinterIsComing YouTube channel sometime.
Anyway, it sounds like the YouTuber had plenty of Game of Thrones segments uploaded to their channel. They were given multiple copyright infringement warnings and takedown notices over a period of years, but didn't do anything about them. “The financial gain from these uploads appears to have been significant,” the judge in the case said, financial gain usually being part of the calculus when deciding whether someone has infringed a copyright; if you use someone else's work but make no money for it, generally speaking the case against you is weaker.
But please don't take that as legal advice; consult a lawyer if you have questions about this stuff. Also, this judge is applying South Korean law, about which I know even less than United States law. Under South Korean law, people who violate copyright law can face up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 50 million won, which works out to just over $35,000. So this YouTuber may have gotten off easy, all things considered.
It's not too hard to find clips from Game of Thrones on YouTube, some of them uploaded by official sources and some of them put up by fans who probably aren't making much in the way of money from them. The world of copyright infringement can be an unpredictable and dangerous place, so if you're going to visit, tread lightly.
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