[WARNING] GameGami/WeMadeMAX DMCA Copyright Strikes

[notHype*]

WeMadeMax (JOYMAX & WeMadeEntertainment merged subsidiaries) & GameGami have been cracking down on illegal private servers with Twitch account bans & DMCA strikes.

If you have been following the private server scene, you'll know what I'm talking about. For those who don't, here is an explanation:

- About 12 hours ago, popular Turkish streamers such as Dou and eGeLee had their Twitch accounts banished temporarily (two days) shortly after going live.

- Ban waves continued throughout the afternoon into the evening. 99% of streamers live on all servers other than ISRO & TRSRO had their accounts banned within 4 hours of the banwave.

- GameGami streamer "DarkJokes" has been named in multiple DMCA reports as the copyright claimant on these psro streamer's DMCA strikes, with the rest being from GameGami.





The following streamers have been banned from Twitch:

Banned Streamer List:
Dou
eGeLee
JOK3BOX
BlazeeSRO
theNasty
CengizhanCelik
Wesa88
iLeadeRLIVE
MULTIPLE OTHER SMALLER STREAMERS.

- Currently, the incident is isolated to Twitch only. However, according to GameGami ticket responses, displayed by DarkJokes, claims that:

A.) major private servers will undergo legal action, and that GameGami is willing to take all steps necessary to eliminate these servers.

B.) Renaming/removing "Silkroad/SRO/-Road" from a private server name will not stop copyright & DMCA claims.

C.) Twitch DMCA strikes will continue & Facebook/Instagram pages will be seized.

D.) No Silkroad related artwork or terminology can be used in any "project."

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The above statement is a simple explanation of the situation and the information we know. Will GameGami's promised actions actually occur? We do not know.

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If you want to continue streaming private servers on Twitch, here are some safety precautions you should follow.

NOTE: These methods are simply an aid to security and do not promise safety against DMCA/copyright claims!

TIPS TO STAY SAFE:
- DO NOT use the the words “SRO, SILKROAD, etc.” in your stream title!
- DO NOT set Silkroad Online as your game for Twitch!
- DO NOT advertise your stream in any official JOYMAX/JCPLANET/GameGami servers!

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More information is presented by the minute. I will be updating this thread as new information arises.

Feel free to comment your opinions, questions, and concerns. Stay safe!

EDIT 1:

Numerous facebook pages belonging to the largest servers across the scene have been suspended, such as Electus Online's. It is now confirmed that GameGami is targeting private servers and their advertising platforms.

EDIT 2:

GameGami has expanded their copyright campaign to platforms such as Facebook, YouTube, DLive, and many more. Some videos and streams get struck within seconds, others within hours, some not taken down.

Popular video editors Server (Xaron) & wiNt have had their videos copyright struck just yesterday, hiding the rest in order to preserve them.

However, as we are seeing, GameGami is able to strike videos which are hidden.

This means one of two things.

1: Reports are filed and proof is provided before the video goes private.
2: There is some type of auto detection system that is able to identify SRO artwork/models/keywords and automatically flags these videos. This would explain how some videos are taken down within seconds of being posted.

We would appreciate your support if you have any idea of exactly HOW the videos are being detected, if there is some outside third party resource being used in this fight etc.

I know it is getting worse day by day... stay strong. Quitting means GameGami wins. Keep pushing for change, keep being active within the PSRO community and keep it alive and preserved until we can go back to normal advertisement strategies. We will prevail!

EDIT 3:

Late update, I know... sorry about that.

GameGami has started targeting Discord servers & communities in addition to Facebook and other social media strikes.

Large silkroad communities such as SroLEX, SroPLUS, SRO Community (7500+ members) have had their communities removed on the grounds of copyright. Similarly, the largest and most competitive servers such as Ridge Online, Eagle Online, Electus Online, Quartz Online, and various others have also had their discord servers deleted for the aforementioned reasons.

Unfortunately, this situation, which has been ongoing for around 8 months now, has no sign of letting up or getting better anytime soon.

Ironically, Twitch strikes seem less common, and small streamers have been streaming small servers with no copyright issues for quite a while now.

Let's see what 2022 holds for us in terms of this disaster. Stay strong and best of luck in your endeavors, whether you are a player or an administrator.

EDIT 4:

Minor update: GameGami has begun their Twitch banwaves yet again, in a less severe fashion.

Some players have found success by streaming in the new "SILKROAD" category on Twitch. Although this is not guaranteed to have a profound effect on ban avoidance, some popular streamers report success with such measures.

At this point, it is highly unlikely that GameGami will stop with their banning campaign. In my opinion, it is time to adapt or find alternative methods of streaming in order to be completely safe. Of course, for those who do not mind the risk -- Twitch & YouTube are still always options. Have a happy summer!

[Comanche*]

We wont let PSRO Servers go dark!

[DubbedToDeath]

Originally Posted by Comanche*

We wont let PSRO Servers go dark!

you dont let them go DarkJokes?

[Comanche*]

Originally Posted by DubbedToDeath

you dont let them go DarkJokes?

What you mean ? If you mean I am a darkjokes the streamer no, I am not him.

[Taut¥]

Actually fkk' gamegami

[JellyBitz]

Hi Discord/Youtube Streaming?

I never liked Twitch, it has a pretty bad record about what freedom is.

[wowbiaw]

Copyright claim ( ATTENTION: 6 May) to Cengizhan from Darkjokes is not related with Gamegami. It's different story between these streamers. Also Cengizhan got banned from twitch yesterday (15 May) , it's for 48h. Avoid misunderstandings.

Couple months ago, Gamegami did warn all streamers and pserver owners about this, since the these kinda things illegal, Gamegami have right to protect their own work.

[notHype*]

Originally Posted by DubbedToDeath

you dont let them go DarkJokes?

He means we won't let PSRO die/be ruined by this.

Originally Posted by wowbiaw

Copyright claim ( ATTENTION: 6 May) to Cengizhan from Darkjokes is not related with Gamegami. It's different story between these streamers. Also Cengizhan got banned from twitch yesterday (15 May) , it's for 48h. Avoid misunderstandings.

All streamers who were involved in the DMCA incident were banned for 48 hours and were banned yesterday - including Cengizhan.

There are also emails/ticket screenshots proving that DarkJokes is the one reporting all the illegal streams to GameGami. Even if he is not the copyright claimant for SRO related DMCA strikes, he's the primary motivator.

Originally Posted by wowbiaw

Couple months ago, Gamegami did warn all streamers and pserver owners about this, since the these kinda things illegal, Gamegami have right to protect their own work.

No streamer did ever receive a warning about this - at least not to my knowledge. If you could show a screenshot, that would be great.

Originally Posted by JellyBitz

Hi Discord/Youtube Streaming?

I never liked Twitch, it has a pretty bad record about what freedom is.

Discord screenshare can barely be considered "streaming." You can't even add overlays.

YouTube, at least in my opinion, is honestly inferior to Twitch in every way - from the layout to the features.

But yes, you're correct. Twitch has always been strict and overprotective on every single one of their policies. Moving to YouTube is a sad reality we may need to get used to...

Who says GameGami won't eventually target YouTube streamers though?

[Judgelemental]

Yeah, I got my video with 7 ******* views taken down.
It was a video where I play by myself on my own local single player project server.

They're really desperate...

[wowbiaw]

Originally Posted by notHype*

No streamer did ever receive a warning about this - at least not to my knowledge. If you could show a screenshot, that would be great.

You can check here:

Article 5: They explaining about Warning Mechanism which is part of copyright claim to streamers.

Originally Posted by notHype*

There are also emails/ticket screenshots proving that DarkJokes is the one reporting all the illegal streams to GameGami. Even if he is not the copyright claimant for SRO related DMCA strikes, he's the primary motivator.

I glad to see screenshots about emails/tickets about Darkjokes here, it will enlight the topic.

[Judgelemental]

Guess I was right

[notHype*]

Originally Posted by Judgelemental

Yeah, I got my video with 7 fucking views taken down.
It was a video where I play by myself on my own local single player project server.

They're really desperate...

I guess they are targeting every single kind of psro advert on Twitch - big or small. Sad story.

Originally Posted by wowbiaw

You can check here:

Article 5: They explaining about Warning Mechanism which is part of copyright claim to streamers.

Article 5 is describing GameGami's power of attorney rights & warning mechanisms over private servers. It is not related to streamers.

 Article 5 (translated to English):

5- As GameGami, we plan to run the warning mechanism for private servers "Silkroad Online" which operates illegally in Turkey (including organizations/individuals whose servers are abroad, which provides access to servers through Turkey and collects server revenues through Turkey), and then take legal
action. We have a lot of information on us, such as who has been running these servers for how long, how the payments are collected by whom and through which channels. We inform you that we have a special power of attorney for the protection of "Joymax" rights and the execution of all necessary legal proceedings and that we will carry out all legal proceedings of our valued partner Joymax in Turkey.

Originally Posted by wowbiaw

I glad to see screenshots about emails/tickets about Darkjokes here, it will enlight the topic.

I will find all of them and post later.

[Judgelemental]

Imagine being so petty you go after pservers instead of bettering your own game

[Gannicus*]

Now they went full Joymax style.

[wowbiaw]

Originally Posted by notHype*

Article 5 is describing GameGami's power of attorney rights & warning mechanisms over private servers. It is not related to streamers.

No, you're wrong. Since they got offical licence from joymax, they got all rights to protect their own work. They did copyright claim and this was the part of warning mechanism, next step can be more strong than this.

The idea behind this is: You can't promote or help a server which is not belong to GameGami or Joymax. Otherwise you will get copyright.

Since this is first move from GameGami, further moves will be more strong than this, take care.

(Footnote for who has no idea what is copyright: You can share rihanna music, since she give you permission for that or if she doesn't claim the copyright as a favor

Same with GameGami, Since they does not support pservers, they will not allow you to share their content without permission.)