https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20160613/01084434693/pure-bullshit-amc-threatens-huge-fan-community-with-copyright-claim-over-spoiler-predictions.shtml
Pure Bullshit: AMC Threatens Huge Fan Community With Copyright Claim Over 'Spoiler' Predictions
from the argh dept
What's up, Hollywood TV people? Hey, could you do everyone a favor and maybe stop being complete assholes to your biggest fans -- and especially completely abusing copyright law to harass and bully those people? Almost exactly a month ago we wrote about HBO abusing the DMCA process to go after people who were predicting what would happen in Game of Thrones, accusing them of violating copyright law in accurately predicting what would happen in the future. As we noted, that's not at all how copyright law works, but apparently AMC took a look at what HBO was doing and said "hey, let's do that too."
A large Facebook fan group (with almost 400,000 subscribers) called "The Spoiling Dead Fans" has announced that it has received a completely bogus DMCA notice from AMC:
“After two years, AMC finally reached out to us! But it wasn’t a request not to post any info about the Lucille Victim or any type of friendly attempt at compromise, it was a cease and desist and a threat of a lawsuit by AMC Holdings, LLC’s attorney, Dennis Wilson. They say we can’t make any type of prediction about the Lucille Victim. Their stance is that making such a prediction would be considered copyright infringement. AMC tells us that we made some claim somewhere that says we received “copyright protected, trade secret information about the most critical plot information in the unreleased next season of The Walking Dead” and that we announced we were going to disclose this protected information. We still aren't sure where we supposedly made this claim because they did not identify where it was.”
cont.
>>70840902
Their stance is wrong and short-sighted. It's wrong because merely predicting what's going to happen in a show is not copyright infringement. It's short-sighted because the people making these guesses tend to be the show's biggest fans. Pissing off your shows' biggest fans not only seems monumentally assholish, but also entirely counterproductive.
“The folks who run the Facebook page note that they don't think there's a legitimate legal issue here, but they're also doing this for fun, and getting sued is no fun, so they're shutting up thanks to the assholes at AMC legal:
Basically what it all comes down to is if we post our Lucille Victim prediction and we're right, AMC says they will sue us. Whether there are grounds for it or not is not the issue, it still costs money to defend. That is the way our justice system works. Would we have defenses? Sure. But it also costs money to mount that defense. If someone brings us a potential Lucille spoiler and we confirm it and it turns out accurate we could get sued. That doesn’t mean they’re right and we’re wrong, but like so many other situations in this world, they have the money and power and we do not. So we lose. In the past two years, AMC has filed several wrongful DMCA notices against us with full knowledge that we could not file counter-notices, hired investigators to intimidate our members, and threatened our local members with arrest, among other questionable acts.”
cont.
>>70840925
It would be nice to know more about the details of those previous wrongful DMCA notices (and I've reached out to the people who operate the page to see if they will provide them), but this appears to be a situation of pure copyright abuse by AMC to silence a Facebook group they don't like. While there were reports last year that this same group leaked a clip from an upcoming show, that's an entirely different issue. Leaking a clip is likely infringement (caveats apply, but...). Still, that doesn't appear to be what happened here at all.
The report also claims that AMC has ramped up aggressiveness here: "AMC has been harassing us for four days now by contacting our homes, our family members and our employers." Again, that seems insane.
But, of course, as you can readily predict from the paragraph quoted above, the folks behind the site don't want to take the risk and are no longer in the prediction business:
“After consultation with our legal counsel, we have responded to AMC that the TSDF staff will not be posting our prediction on who gets Lucilled on any of our outlets. We will also not be answering any questions about who we think it is. If you hear a potential spoiler elsewhere and bring it to us for confirmation, we will not confirm or deny it. If you message us privately and ask who we think gets Lucilled, we will not respond. The info may find another outlet on its own, but an official prediction will not come from the TSDF staff.”
I still can't figure out how or why anyone at AMC thinks this is a good idea. The copyright claim is ridiculous. Predicting what will happen in a TV show is not copyright infringement. Pissing off the people who love your show so much they want more of it seems even more ridiculous. What possible good could this serve?
FIN
>>70840945
>What possible good could this serve?
It would serve as a good wake up call for you to stop watching this shitty show after season 2.
>>70840902
thought that was a dick wrapped in barbed wire tbqh
this sounds pretty dumb desu
why dont you just carry on doing what ur doing and when it comes to them legit sueing you laugh in their face or go to prison were it will become a big thing and you'll be released in such a short amount of time anyway?
in no society are you going to spend serious time or have to pay money for predicting a tv show.
no lawyers are needed
>>70841289
Yeah, the public and media will be your lawyers if you're ever in serious trouble. A simple gofundme and some media attention will get you the shit you need and it'll be the last time so cunt will try and fuck over people for talking about a TV show. People who are threatened and stopped talking about it are pussy cucks.
>wall of text
>walking pleb
nah m8
>>70841289
yeah sure why not just get sent to prison over a shitty tv show fan page its not like they have real jobs or anything
Man, AMC have always been huge Jews when it comes to The Walking Dead but this year they've gone full Jew. First that "WHO DID NEGAN KILL?! TUNE IN NEXT SEASON!" bullshit and now this. I wouldn't be surprised if they end up having Negan kill Aaron or some other minor character.
>>70841376
>tv
>jobs
LOL
reviews are covered in fair usage(or whatever its called) seems like this would be covered too. you can't make a prediction for the next episode until you watch the current one.
>>70840945
>“After consultation with our legal counsel, we have responded to AMC that the TSDF staff will not be posting our prediction on who gets Lucilled on any of our outlets. We will also not be answering any questions about who we think it is. If you hear a potential spoiler elsewhere and bring it to us for confirmation, we will not confirm or deny it. If you message us privately and ask who we think gets Lucilled, we will not respond. The info may find another outlet on its own, but an official prediction will not come from the TSDF staff.”
Fucking cowards
This shit is retarded. We all know it was Glenn anyway.
>>70841413
Yes there are people who watch tv that have jobs.
This has nothing to do with /tv/
>>70840902
>>70841376
A civil suit against amc could be worth more than an entire lifetime of work.
>corporate lawyers
The lowest form of life. I will not leave this life without at least torturing and murdering one
>you are no longer allowed to discuss and think about our show
what the fuck
>>70841377
They might as well have had a "TEXT 1-888-9956-4040 TO DECIDE WHO NEGAN KILLS!" subtitle pop up at the bottom of the screen for that final shot for the amount that it completely breaks the illusion of television.
>>70841511
You heard me cuck
>>70841376
>post predictions
>amc comes for you
>go to the media
>amc gets shit on
>make a gofundme
>get 100k+ for legal expenses
>absolutely fuck amc
>be known as the heroes who overcame the odds
>caring about your shit job
>>70841515
do you remember Who Shot Mr Burns? they had websites and all kinds of shit to pick who did it.
>>70841544
Fuck off
>end season on fuck huge spoiler to drum up hype
>sue people for talking about it
>>70841569
WHO SHOTHIM
>all the cast except glenn spotted
yep he's dead
>>70841569
goodness gracious
>>70841582
Made me kek anon
>>70841447
I'm sure you would do differently and spends thousands on litigation fees and take AMC to court. Like they stated, this is how America's justice system works. If you want to shut small guys up, threaten to sue. It usually works but not all the time. I recall a story but can't remember the specifics of McDonalds being in court vs 2 old people for many many years and I'm not sure if the case is still ongoing or not.
>>70840902
why does op's pic remind me of a penis?
>>70841582
When did everything get so fucked up?
>cuckman apologizes for the cliffhanger and says it was to get people talking about it
>AMC sues people that talk about it
>>70841644
you don't understand. you wouldn't pay a fucking penny you retard. if this happened it'd be all over the news and social media and there would be lawyers begging to take the case/people throwing money at you to fuck amc over. you'd come out richer.
Spoilers are like rape. It's the worst crime you can commit. Those who defend walking dead fans should be listed like they do with pedophiles so we can avoid living next to them.
>>70841671
>cuckman apologizes for the cliffhanger and says it was to get people talking about it
when did this happen?
>paying for legal defense
if you can't competently defend yourself from a clearly frivolous lawsuit then you deserve to get sued
as I understand it the whole basis for AMC's suit is by somehow predicting correctly some secret plot point within the show they assume you somehow got a hold of and are distributing their product
well call their fucking bluff son, they have to prove it, else they are wasting the court's time which judges do not fucking tolerate.
>>70841692
http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/05/walking-dead-cliffhanger-finale-robert-kirkman-sorry
>>70841489
hate the sin not the sinner
the only reason they are allowed to thrive is because of the fucked up laws that still exist to be exploited like a cock fucking a whore's gaped ass
don't hate the man for wanting to get his dick wet in a slimy hole, hate the whore for existing with a gaped ass tempting men to fuck her
>>70841677
>if this happened it'd be all over the news and social media and there would be lawyers begging to take the case/people throwing money at you to fuck amc over.
Almost all cases like that end up with the guy being fucked forever, monetarily and otherwise, they can never find a proper lawyer if they don't have a shitload of money, what world are you living in? How would he even tell people about it if he for example has a court order forbidding him from talking about it?
>>70841704
>if you can't competently defend yourself from a clearly frivolous lawsuit then you deserve to get sued
Do you have any ideas how lawsuits work nowadays? It's not about arguing the case, it's about exploiting loopholes until the party with less money gives up.
>>70841716
What the fuck are you talking about?
>>70841728
if you act as your own defense the court gives you a great deal of leeway which in a suit this simple and idiotic is all you need
>>70841712
thanks for rekindling my rage. he went back to that "other shows did good cliffhangers so that makes ours is OK too" bullshit
>>70841773
he's using basic right wing ideology, pay him no mind
>>70841728
>AMC Lawyer goes on a big grandoise rant about you being guilty
>What do you have to say Anon
>I predicted with some friends what was gonna happen in a TV show
>Ah ok AMC go fuck yourself
>>70841830
>>70841728
Do you have any ideas how lawsuits work nowadays? It's not about arguing the case, it's about exploiting loopholes until the party with less money gives up.
I can't speak for other states but in Florida the loser of a lawsuit like this would have to pay all legal expenses and would leave them open to a massive counter suite
I'd higher the highest paid copyright attorney in the area and let this shit work itself out to my amusement
>>70841870
And you'd hire him with what money exactly?
>>70841773
the poster said they wanted to torture and murder a corporate laywer because they "are the lowest of the low"
how are they low? did they invent the laws they are exploiting? no, they simply went to school to study it the law and understand because the people who DID write the laws did the same thing. laws are intentionally written to be convoluted and so that people need to hire lawyers in order to successfully win a case because the other side will have their own lawyers. lawyers exist because of how inherently confusing laws and law in general can be.
don't hate the player, hate the game
>>70841897
we could work out that he would get paid off the assumption that he wins and will get all his fees paid by the opposing side because as I mentioned earlier per Florida laws the losing side is responsible for all fees and costs in certain situations
deals like this are real, I'm not bullshitting
has anyone posted this on Kirkman's twitter to see him squirm?
I know he has no real say in this, this is AMC's bitchfit, but still this is his monster
>>70841940
I know they're real, but not when you're going against a massive multinational conglomerate.
>>70841902
They are slimy disgusting subhumans. They're worms festering on open wounds, I don't consider them clever for exploiting loopholes in the constitution to make money. I want them to die, but only after apologizing for their filthy existence
>>70840902
The jew is a creature of pure malevolence.
>>70841995
your under the assumption AMC is willing to see this through
this is a scare tactic, they have literally no leg to stand on if this actually moves forward
if they actually did move forward then clearly AMC has the most incompetent legal team I've ever seen and they deserve and good kick in the ass
Maybe if they actually made a good finale they wouldnt need to go turbojew,
Or maybe film there juicy plotlines with minimal workers and actually inside? I mean for fuck sake we saw the negan pov shot the second JDM was confirmed.
Just a thought.
>>70841998
*teleports behind lawyer*
*unzip katana*
>yfw AMC isn't actually owned by jews
Where is the ACLU on this?
Why aren't they helping to fight this blatant attack on Free Speech?
Also; tanks for the TPP, Obama...
>>70841418
>reviews are covered in fair usage
Yeah, about that...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Pacific_Partnership
>>70840902
Since the days of Star Trek TOS, networks have generally maintained a respectful distance from fan communities, allowing them to do their thing even if it means tacitly allowing some deal of copyright infringement in the form of so-called transformative works (fan art, fics, vids, films, etc.), it's largely seen as beneficial to them not to be heavy-handed. AMC taking an aggressive stance against one over dubious claims of copyright infringement and leaked trade secrets, is very troubling, because it could create a chilled atmosphere throughout the fan world, and worse, might signal a larger change within the industry.
>>70841940
>we could work out that he would get paid off the assumption
LOL!
>>70841902
i bet you hate people on welfare
dont hate the players, hate the game
>>70840902
Dead industry is dead anyways. Sometimes you just have to let the retard child touch the hot stove.
>>70842595
>AMC taking an aggressive stance against one over dubious claims of copyright infringement and leaked trade secrets, is very troubling, because it could create a chilled atmosphere throughout the fan world, and worse, might signal a larger change within the industry.
Yeah, that would be the troubling part, not the part where people get THROWN IN PRISON for talking about a tv show...
>>70842595
Thinking about it some more, I wonder if this isn't some sort of weird butterfly effect from the fan uprising over The100 this past spring, which outright cost The CW sponsors and sent reverberations through the industry. It could be that they're afraid of something similar happening when The Walking Dead returns this fall and somehow think that quashing discussion of the possibilities will help them.
>>70842796
Fucking a, Lexa was a shitty actress and a plot device. She's not part of The 100 or Ark so of course she'd inevitably die.
Clarke is the lead and bisexual. Is that not enough for the lbgtq community? There's also another gay couple and a lot of homolust vibes between Bellamy/Murphy.
but Walking Dead has always been terrible so who cares about this
>>70842796
Hang on, how did some tumblr bitches cause The CW to lose sponsors? What happened?
>>70842773
Lawsuits don't entail prison terms, only financial judgments. But a widespread crackdown on fan circles could have enormous impact.
>>70842946
The 100 isn't any better t b h. Both are schlocky soap operas.
>>70840902
>>70840925
>>70840945
What would ever posses you to think anyone would read all that?
>>70842983
no sponsors were lost at all.
but Clexa shipping fans are fucking crazy like Olicity fans and rated all the episodes after Lexa died like 1/10 on IMBD and talk mad shit on it on twitter and stopped following the creators while constantly writing articles about and tweeting about lesbians dying trope bs. The viewership has dropped pretty hard too. But really not that much and the writers and netwrok don't give a fuck because CW is so based and doesn't bow down to anyone. They renewed Crazy Ex-Girlfriend which gets lower rating than Family Guy reruns.
>>70842441
Because AMC isn't the USA?
>>70843021
what's funny is Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Jane the Virgin which are actually soaps are both more entertaining
>>70843060
> I'm proud of my illiteracy!
>>70841289
The issue is though that a dmca request can have the content removed from a site, no?
>>70843191
>The issue is though that a dmca request can have the content removed from a site, no?
What "content"?
People are talking about a tv show, AMC doesn't somehow "own" their speech?
>>70841377
Dude I GUARANTEE Aaron was the one who was supposed to die, but now they have to change it with what happened in Orlando. They already pissed off the gays with that fat chick getting the arrow; zero chance of the most brutal death ever going to another gay. I honestly don't care at all who gets it as long as its drawn out and gory as fuck. I already know they'll just do the pov shot, reactions, and then show the corpse mangled though...
>>70843264
>What "content"?
The article or their posts or whatever it is.
>AMC doesn't somehow "own" their speech?
Hence the issue.
>>70842720
there's a reason parks have signs that say "don't feed the animals" because if you do they get used to it and lazy and destroys their initiative to get hunt
how quickly we forget we are animals that simply learned how to walk on 2 legs
>>70841142
I am home.
>>70842737
>Sometimes you just have to let the retard child touch the hot stove.
I almost choked on my KFC wedges
>>70842695
Not sure what lawyer wouldn't take that. Would probably be the easiest civil counter-lawsuit in their career.
>>70843514
>be a retard kid
>parents tell me stove is hot
>i touch stove
>"WAAH IT'S HOT!"
>after hours of my fingers burning, running them under cold water, and weeks of them being bandaged up, I learn to never touch stove again
>20 years later, I'm being paid money to use stoves all day
>Never once burned myself yet
Life's funny sometimes
>>70843631
>and weeks of them being bandaged up
did you hug the stove? my mom told me not to touch the stove, then I did, but i just poked it with the tip of my finger.
>>70843331
Nah, everyone knows Negan kills himself with Lucille.
>>70841870
>higher
>>70841485
Won't this be a class action though considering there's like maybe more than 50 people on that fan site or whatever?
>>70840902
>fuck up best comic scene and throw any potential integrity a tv season can have by hinging entire season finale on LE CLIFFHANGER to string viewers along
>quickly realize fan speculation threatens the tenuous investment granted by LE CLIFFHANGER because it was so shittily conceived
>"AHHHH HELP ME LAWYERS"
>mfw it's still going to leak anyway
>mfw amc is only doing this shit because of all of the backlash over the cliffhanger
>mfw people don't understand what "free speech" means
>mfw the walking dead has been shit since season 3
>mfw amc is in full damage control mode
>mfw even kirkman was forced to comment on the shitstorm surrounding the finale
>mfw half (or more) of these people bitching about the cliffhanger are going to end up watching the new season anyway
>mfw Fear is still a shit show
>mfw people find out that the one who dies is____glenn
>>70825142
>>70825142
>>70841995
Are you retarded?
>Lawyer goes up against a "conglomerate".
>Gains publicity out the ass
>If he wins, he is guaranteed an enormous amount of money
>If he loses, he can say it was a "David v. Goliath case"
I am not saying it would be as effective as winning, but you can't really lose going up against someone who can spend $40 million on lawyer unless you do it frivolously. You are retarded if you think otherwise.
>end season on a bullshit cliffhanger
>get mad when people figure out the ending
Glad I don't watch this shit anymore.
>What is the streisand effect
Lmao their fucking PR department doesn't know shit about the internet
>>70843060
I read it all, took 5 minutes and it's interesting enough to warrant the read but, there could be a tldr version
>>70841142
If you've read the comic, you know that it really is.
>>70841712
>we want you to talk and make predictions
Just don't let our bosses hear you talking about it
it's already confirmed it's glenn
lmao
>>70841663
Thanks Obama
>>70847901
Correct
feels good to be a pirate, surprised to hear HBO is pulling that shit too.
>>70842720
>>70841902
who wrote those laws though? players did. i think somewhere there's legitimacy in stopping someone else from profiting off of your work but when it's HBO or AMC i'm going to say they're just being assholes.
>>70841940
>he works on the spirit of getting paid.
>>70842996
> talk about a tv show
> get YMCA notice
> “fuck you!”
> get dragged into court
> media controlled by the same corporation
> nobody hears about your case
> lose trial due to Obama’s TPP Agreement
> get fined a bazillion dollars for legal fees
> go bankrupt, lose house and every penny
> out on the street, living under a bridge
> rob a 7-11 for food
> go to prison
“But… but what about fan circles?!”
>>70840902
Fuck AMC.
Fuck Walking Dead, and fuck Preacher. Stop ruining stuff please.
>>70840902
>AMC Threatens With Copyright Claim Over Predictions
HAHAHAHA
>>70840902
wtf?! I hate AMC now!
>o-ok we won't talk about your tv show
HA HA HA HA HA
Why don't they sue Kirkman for drawing/writing Glenn's death next?
>>70841376
what's it like having no balls and slaving away at a shit job wagecuck
>>70840902
First I'm hearing about this and wow, I hope AMC gets judicially fucked in the ass for millions and this shit tier show will finally stop
>>70840925
>>70840945
If this is all true it sounds like AMC is engaging in illegal behavior and these guys could report them to the police. And where is Facebook in all this? The group is hosted by them.
Also what would happen if AMC sued but they refused to respond to it? Would they get arrested and put in jail?
>>70841582
God bless the united states of jew lawyers
>>70841663
1776
>>70840902
How can they bitch about predicting the plot of something like GOT?
They are adaptations of books, right?
So if you read the books then you know what's going to happen.
Are they going to pull all the books out of circulation?
>>70850044
You're a tremendous faggot.
