Mark Fitzpatrick publishes reviews of manga and anime on his YouTube channel “Totally Not Mark.”
However, Toei Animation came after the channel. The Japan-based production company hit Mark with 10 copyright claims overnight.
“Over the last twenty-four hours, I’ve sat back in disbelief, shock, and sorrow as my life’s work has been unfairly ripped away from me,” begins Mark in his response video to Toei and YouTube.
Totally Not Mark is a popular channel with more than one million subscribers.
“Two nights ago, I received an email notifying me that fifteen of my videos had been copyright claimed and blocked by Toei Animation,” Mark continues. “One hour later, that number rose to twenty-eight. And when I woke up this morning, it had reached a total of 150 videos that my audience can no longer see and that I can no longer monetize.”
All the videos YouTube removed were reviews of either One Piece or Dragon Ball, both owned by Toei. Many of the videos did not even feature footage from the anime; they were tutorials on how to draw.
Mark explained that it takes his team a week to work on one video. So, the 150 videos removed amounted to three years of work.
“And as a result, the main source of my company’s income is now gone,” he said.
The removal was also alarming considering Toei has asked Mark to do some promotional work for them in the past.
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