This kind of crap pisses me off. What Machinima put in the contract is illegal by U.S. law and is putting this poor guy in a really bad situation. He's lucky he has Reddit on his side and looks like he'll be getting a lawyer for himself because of that.
Machinima Contract wrote:
...this Agreement shall commence on the effective date and continue in perpetuity unless otherwise terminated by Machinima in its sole discretion, with or without cause, upon the provision to Director of 10 days notice at the address or email first set forth above.
Another Machinima partner, Athene, left them in response to this. Since he had signed an older contract before this clause was put in, he was able to quit easily.
Thoughts?
Gaming accomplishments: Nibbler (marathon): 251,169,160 / Nibbler (one life): 5,263,360 (WR) Donkey Kong: 423,100 [L12-1] (150th place as of 2019-01-15) Super Smash Bros. (N64): Ranked top 5 in Wisconsin from Q1 2016 to Q2 2017 Shrek SuperSlam: won largest tournament in game's history (Shrekfest 2018)
YoshiEgg25 wrote:
Another Machinima partner, Athene, left them in response to this. Since he had signed an older contract before this clause was put in, he was able to quit easily.
Thoughts?
Athene the pole-adin and that attention whore woman? Good riddance. Dont really have an opinnion on the BraindeadlyEU thing since I can't watch the video at the moment and I'm not familar with his/her videos.
In general I think it's pretty crazy/messed up that something as innocent as machinima videos on youtube is this serious business and so commercialized. And it sucks that some one else gets the profit and gets to set out the rules when its these people like BraindeadilyEU who do all the creative work for them. Things like this ruins subcultures, when things become too big and money comes to play.
Last edited by Menegrothx on Tue May 08, 2012 6:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
My WTB thread (Sega CD/Saturn games)
Also looking to buy: Ys III (TG-16 CD), Shadowrun (Genesis) Hori N64 mini pad and Slayer (3DO) in long box/just the long box
That is why you read contracts before you sign them.
But, I may be no contract lawyer but I am betting there would be a loop hole or two in that contract. Or just a way to get out of it either based on another law in the US or international law.
For example, if he isn't obligated to make videos according the contract then it would be likely that he isn't obligated under his name but instead just the name of his series or his persona. Also if the law doesn't hold up outside the US then he could simply threaten legal action to have the videos removed or blocked in those other territories which would cause Machinima a great deal of annoyance I'm sure.
KDub wrote:
But, I may be no contract lawyer but I am betting there would be a loop hole or two in that contract. Or just a way to get out of it either based on another law in the US or international law.
Considering the contract was illegal already for reasons I listed in my first post, there's enough to save this guy. The problem is money for the kid.
Gaming accomplishments: Nibbler (marathon): 251,169,160 / Nibbler (one life): 5,263,360 (WR) Donkey Kong: 423,100 [L12-1] (150th place as of 2019-01-15) Super Smash Bros. (N64): Ranked top 5 in Wisconsin from Q1 2016 to Q2 2017 Shrek SuperSlam: won largest tournament in game's history (Shrekfest 2018)
He doesn't need a lawyer to open a lawsuit or threaten legal action. If it is illegal to have in a contract all he has to do is go through the proper channels and they will have to drop the contract. Or just do whatever he wants anyway, if it is illegal they can't sue him for breaking his contract if the contract is not in good standing.
Just going forward with something else and being vocal about the contract's illegal standing would be a good move. Bad publicity can go a long way sometimes.
KDub wrote:He doesn't need a lawyer to open a lawsuit or threaten legal action. If it is illegal to have in a contract all he has to do is go through the proper channels and they will have to drop the contract. Or just do whatever he wants anyway, if it is illegal they can't sue him for breaking his contract if the contract is not in good standing.
Just going forward with something else and being vocal about the contract's illegal standing would be a good move. Bad publicity can go a long way sometimes.
Right, but being a poor man from a foreign country could cause Machinima to just laugh at him.
Machinima's getting some bad publicity about this (lots of videos getting spammed with dislikes), but no news outlet has picked this up yet.
Here's the Reddit thread that broke the news originally:
Gaming accomplishments: Nibbler (marathon): 251,169,160 / Nibbler (one life): 5,263,360 (WR) Donkey Kong: 423,100 [L12-1] (150th place as of 2019-01-15) Super Smash Bros. (N64): Ranked top 5 in Wisconsin from Q1 2016 to Q2 2017 Shrek SuperSlam: won largest tournament in game's history (Shrekfest 2018)
