Is PewDiePie breaking the law with his Let's Play videos? The answer is, maybe. According to a new video from PBS Game/Show, the popular YouTube star may be on the wrong side of the law.
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Let's Play (and other similar channels for that matter) may be actually illegal due to copyright laws. PewDiePie is technically engaging with copyrighted material and profiting from its use. This in any other medium would likely be a bit more than frowned upon.
With Let's Play however, the argument can be made that his videos are good for business since they preview a game and get people to buy them. As the video pointed out, with certain indie games, the videos helped to drag them out of obscurity.
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The flip side is that with certain larger games, they highlighted the issues that were there at launch. Big studios have been getting into a lot of trouble recently for releasing seriously buggy games to the public. They could make the argument that videos that highlight "minor" issues are hurting sales.
No one has perused any prosecution surrounding the use of games in Let's Play or any other channels of that nature. So no real insight can be given on whether or not they would actually hold up against fair use laws or not. At this point, it's all speculation but in today's world where we share copyrighted information constantly, they may be able to slide through any charges.
For a full look at the legality of Let's Play, check out the Game/Show in the video below.