We've recently been made aware of an ongoing dispute with a Russian StarCraft 2 casting/restreaming channel, which is taking content from other channels and doing their own Russian language casts over the top. Some are arguing this is theft while others are arguing that it's transformative and helping to spread SC2 content further. Unsurprisingly it's not quite as simple as that. The channel in question isn't just casting over the top of other peoples vods, it is also deliberately replacing the events sponsor logos with their own. This has included some of our content.



Fair use is a tricky thing, which is why it's usually decided in court and not a simple black and white issue. There are things that can help tip the balance in your favour and demonstrate that you are showing good faith in your so-called "fair use". One of those things is proper accreditation. This channel did nothing of the sort, the descriptions are full of links to referral links to dodgy grey market key-resellers and gambling sites. Another would be to ensure that you are keeping the sponsor representation of the event you are restreaming intact, so that you are correctly crediting the people who funded that event. Going out of your way to cover that up so that you can make a few extra dollars is unquestionably in my mind a malicious move. At that point I think the transformative "fair use" argument goes right out of the window. These guys are trying to make money off the back of other peoples hard work and supporting shady companies as they do so. As a result we've taken action to have our content removed from their YouTube channel and will issue takedowns against any new uploads that use our content.



An argument can be made that more eyeballs is good for SC2, which is not as big as it once was. I argue that if sponsors are seeing content they paid for taken and re-used without their permission, with their sponsorship removed and replaced, in some cases with competing companies by restreamers, they are not going to be so keen to continue to support our scene. Just as I've said in the past that all money into the scene is not created equal and that we should not be relying on dirty money from shady sponsors, this kind of behavior should not be tolerated either. The shadier a scene is, the less a legitimate sponsor is going to want to have anything to do with it. A clean scene that is above board and reputable will attract sponsors regardless of its size. There are sponsorship opportunities everywhere, at all levels of competition, you just have to know where to look for them.



We've been increasing the number of foreign language streams available for SHOUTcraft content as of late. As it stands we provide English, Korean, French, German, Polish, Russian and Chinese coverage. I'd also like to take this opportunity to give blanket permission to take SHOUTcraft content and restream it with your own commentary, whatever language that might be. If you wish to lower the video volume and cast over it, you are welcome to do so. If you can provide a service for viewers in a language we aren't covering or simply in a different style, you can do so and we will absolutely not go after you. We have no problem with you monetizing those VoDs and streams either with Youtube and Twitch ads. The only two requirements are that



1) You leave the sponsorship messaging in our content intact. You do not attempt to remove or change the sponsorship messaging in any way. This also means that you cannot add your own sponsors to the content.



2) You properly credit the source of the content by linking to it in the YouTube video description and mentioning it during your cast.



Otherwise, feel free to restream, recast and remix to your hearts content. Fair use is exactly what it sounds like. Use other peoples content in a fair manner, don't be a dick about it and everyone gets along just fine. Start taking the piss and you don't get to complain when we exercise our right to remove our content from your channel.