Grave of the Fireflies: the Pragmus Review that is no More

Thanks, Melberries... NOT.

A Pragmus Review that sadly is no more...

There are sooo many people lately who have been harassed by a certain con for a company called “Melberries” (I know, even the name is awful…).  What these guys do is look for YouTube videos that have any reference at all to Studio Ghibli films or other sorts of anime, and many other types of visual media.  Then they slam small-scale YouTubers with copyright claims because, as the sleazy company they are, they know that the YouTubers with less hits are pretty much not likely to get support from YouTube against the copyright claims.  You know what is really silly about this though?  People who reference the media that Melberries claims is unlawfully used are actually not doing anything against the law (that is, unless they actually post an entire episode of a show or a full-length film).  There is something called “fair use,” which is a copyright law protecting critics of the media being presented.  In all reality, it makes no sense to stop critics from using bits and pieces of full media texts because banning such use would be a strict form of censorship, barring fair criticisms of various media texts.

So, why are we talking about Melberries?  Well, this company has actually fought against us at Pragmus, saying that “fair use does not exist in Europe,” and threatening to take our review for Grave of the Fireflies down.  This, my friends, is not even a valid claim.  You see Alpha (Logan) and I (Corey, or Pragmus Sigma) looked pretty deep into this legal situation and found specific legislation in the European Union Law, called the "Copyright Directive," a.k.a. the "Directive 2001/29/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 May 2001 on the harmonisation of certain aspects of copyright and related rights in the information society."

The section of this document talking about copyright laws and, in effect, fair use policies, is section 3D, which states the following:

• (d) quotations for purposes such as criticism or review, provided that they relate to a work or other subject-matter which has already been lawfully made available to the public, that, unless this turns out to be impossible, the source, including the author's name, is indicated, and that their use is in accordance with fair practice, and to the extent required by the specific purpose...

Roger Ebert--one of the greatest critics of our day.

<<Just imagine what the film industry would be if people like Roger Ebert were shut down for copyright claims that critics should be protected against by Fair Use laws.  We'd be missing out on some of the most important aspect of film--criticism and analyses.>>

HMMMM…  I don’t know about you guys, but I’d say that this law obviously indicates that fair use does indeed exist in the European Union.

Melberries, however, begs to differ.

What happened to us next is this: after we sent an email to Melberries in effort to explain the existence of this EU law, they stopped contacting us through email and cracked down even harder on their copyright claims for our film review.  Ultimately, because of their incessant claims against us, our video was deemed to be forcibly taken down from Youtube.  Sometimes people like us--smaller-scale YouTubers--not only have videos taken down, but their entire YouTube account is frequently suspended or terminated altogether.  This is a major problem because it effectively shuts down growing Youtube channels for the monetary gain of the copyright claim filing industry.  This is unjust and, quite frankly, downright uncool. 

What the even?

So, from here, we hope that media companies will get the hint. Fair Use and reviews are an excellent way to get publicity and attention. In this new age of the internet, we must push for a greater emphasis on the freedom of speech. We have a right to review and a right to critique!  If you feel strongly about this as well, we ask you to please leave a comment about this on the the fair use petition site some big-name YouTube critics have put together.  You can access the site here.  Thanks, Pragmus fans!  We hope this was somewhat informative for you.  Keep rocking our socks, friends!

Pragmus Sigma

(Corey Cherrington)

Blog and Social Media Administrator

Image of the "Take Down Abuse" petition site

Censorship in Today's Media: Why Should Opinions be Silenced?

Let's talk for a moment about censorship... Good 'ol censorship is an idea that everyone under the sun might be inclined to say is terrible because, people typically don't like to be censored or restricted from their freedom of speech and expression. But do we really live by the principles of freedom that we claim to believe?

There are a great deal of political, progressive, and social movements, which is great! This has allowed various minority groups to be recognized and has permitted American society to provide a greater amount of tolerance for people regardless of their race, gender, identity, or sexual orientation. This is wonderful! And we have made so much progress over the past 50+ years because of it.  The not so wonderful thing is the fact that anybody not on board with these ideas is shut up.

I'm not saying I'm in favor of discrimination or ideas that are so obviously archaic, outdated, and stupid. What I am saying is that there needs to be freedom to say things even if people disagree with them. There's a quote from Evelyn Beatrice Hall that applies perfectly to this idea:

Evelyn Beatrice Hall

"I do not agree with what you have to say, but I'll defend to the death your right to say it."

This is the hallmark of any free society: having access to the right to say what you want and to express what you truly believe. If what someone has to say is offensive, instead of attacking it with policy and legislation, what people should do is attack it with influence and ideas. Show the world why an idea is worth fighting for and how to implement it; in other words, we need conversations rather than monologues, dialogue rather than social limitations. Increased censorship will only cause a counter-culture to develop, ultimately forcing freedom-loving people to fight forced restrictions.

The internet is a forum where ideas can be shared freely, which is a good thing. It allows ideas to flow as they will in a raw and uncensored way. At the same time though, there are pushes to restrict our privileges on the internet in order to prevent "hate speech" in a culture dominated by a call for complete social justice. What's crazy about this is that a lot of what is being protested is not actually "hate speech," but honest opinions that are seen as offensive to very sensitive individuals.  Hate speech itself should be discouraged, but we must recognize the fact that there is a huge difference between hateful words and valid points of view.  

What I suggest to combat misunderstanding of opinions as "hateful" is that society obtain thicker skin in order to avoid being offended by nearly anything. Offense is a choice, my friends. The right to "Not be Offended" doesn't lie with society, but with the individual. Avoid censorship and let free dialogue roam. Let's be tolerant and loving to others, but also thick-skinned and mature.  This is how we facilitate good dialogue on important topics--we must be open to hearing things that we might not agree with.  If we are not willing to hear other viewpoints, how can we expect to express our own?

Pragmus Alpha
CEO

*Edited by Pragmus Sigma

We Love Fair Use! #WTFU

So, we at Pragmus hope that all of you out there have at least heard about the fair use issues that are trying to take over Youtube and bring down successful Youtubers who make basically any reference at all to a movie, song, or other media.  As it is now, the average modern-day Youtuber has to tread on eggshells to simply publish a video online without getting it taken down for good.  Some Youtube accounts have been demolished altogether, which is totally not right, considering that critics need access to the media texts they are analyzing in order to effectively convey their thoughts and opinions.  Imagine critics not being able to publish critiques with any quotes, visuals from the film, or really anything else from a given film, song, music video, etc.  If it came down to that, well, it could be said that freedom of expression and speech would be greatly impeded.  We certainly hope that doesn't happen!

Thanks for your support, Pragmus fans!  Keep rocking our socks and support fair use!  #WTFU

Pragmus Sigma

Blog Administrator