Over the last few days, comeso GmbH has issued takedown notices for several urls on MyWaifuList as part of their weaponization of the DMCA process offered by Google.
Comeso GmbH Picks Up Steam In January, 2023
Since January 2023, according to google transparency reports, comeso has stepped up issuing takedowns of up to 6 million URLS per month. This is a huge increase and should draw scrutiny, and the MyWaifuList inbox is starting to get flooded by DMCA removals without any recourse for us to reinstate our content – despite the fact that we do not host, never have hosted, and never will host original source material. Some of these series do not even contain proper information, and simply match based on the name of the work.
It’s obvious that due diligence is not being done here, resulting in the direct loss of traffic and significant organic impact against our rankings for pages.
MyWaifuList And Fair Use
MyWaifuList firmly believes that our platform falls within the fair use exception for several reasons:
MyWaifuList provides users with a platform for discussion, voting, and commentary on fictional characters. Our website facilitates discussions by encouraging users to engage in analysis, critique, and the expression of their opinions about these characters.
MyWaifuList is not profit driven, and has never been profitable. Our platform focuses on fostering a community for fans to share their passion and exchange ideas regarding fictional characters. While there may be ads or sponsored content on the site, they are solely intended to cover operational costs and ensure the sustainability of the platform.
MyWaifuList only utilizes characters and series in a limited manner necessary to achieve our purpose: assisting users in finding Waifus, voting on Waifus, and discussing Waifus. The images featured for series are those same images available as promotional material to media outlets and other websites (MyAnimeList, AniList) promoting the work (official cover art, newest promotional art). Our series also facilitate a Watchlist feature, which is present on nearly every other website (MyAnimeList, Kitsu, Anilist.co) – allowing users to track episodes watched and rate the series accordingly for display on their profile.
Lastly, MyWaifuList’s activities do not negatively impact the market for the original copyrighted works. If anything, our platform serves as a promotional tool by generating interest, fostering discussion, and attracting potential consumers of the original works. Users who are passionate about specific characters often seek out related merchandise, official releases, and other media, contributing to the market demand.
MyWaifuList regularly updates and maintains historical listings and historical rankings for characters for each season, and uses the airing shows to compile the ratings for the top characters, and most hated characters, in real time on our ranking pages.
Based on the aforementioned factors, MyWaifuList firmly believes that our platform qualifies for fair use protection and is a beneficial service for all anime fans.
Official Index Of DMCA Requests From comeso GmbH
I’m going to index every title we receive a DMCA request for, along with the link to the work on MyWaifuList.
How You Can Help
Be vocal on twitter, retweet our pinned tweet, and try to get the word out to people with a bigger audience to call out this bullshit. The only accountability for modern day DMCA abuse is the public, unfortunately.
How can I ruin there day? I’ve got resources but not big time but enough to get a response from their legal
God damn this is stupid. Misuse of this kind of stuff should be legally punishable, as well as punishable by removing their rights to use the service.
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My honest reaction to the information you have just provided me: wtf
To help just be vocal on twitter, retweet the post, and try to get the word up the chain to people with a bigger audience to call out their bullshit. Until someone calls them out, they are totally OK just shitting all over us because there is zero accountability until people get upset.
🙁 not cool
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